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In the midst of the preseason, Bleacher Report suggested one trade every NFL team should consider making. Among all 32 predictions, the Buffalo Bills have two interesting connections.
The first is a potential deal that has been refenced a lot this offseason. B/R suggests the Bills reach out to the Eagles about trading for tight end Zack Ertz:
The Buffalo Bills have been linked to Ertz as a potential landing spot for months.
Originally, the three-time Pro Bowl tight end didn’t want to play for the Eagles anymore, according to Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline. Ertz’s stance seems to be softening a bit, and he could be with Philadelphia at the start of the 2021 campaign, per Sports Radio 94 WIP’s Howard Eskin.
Or, the Eagles could be trying to build some leverage since they desperately require salary-cap relief.
Whatever the case, the Bills should be aggressive to land an upgrade at one of the team’s few weak spots.
The next is a new name. What about Giants tight end Evan Engram? B/R thinks the Giants should look into contacting the Bills about such a trade:
The New York Giants have something in Engram. They’re just not sure what.
Engram is a gifted athlete capable of making big plays. He’s also inconsistent, highly inefficient and a free agent after this season. Engram shouldn’t be placed in a position where he leads the team with more than 100 targets, as he did a year ago.
He almost certainly won’t with Kenny Golladay and Kadarius Toney on the roster. In fact, the Giants should take things one step further and build around their new wide receiver corps. Golladay, Toney, Darius Slayton and Sterling Shepard can be highly effective. Besides, New York signed veteran Kyle Rudolph to be a more reliable option at tight end.
If the Bills don’t eventually make a move for the Philadelphia Eagles’ Zach Ertz, the Giants can outmaneuver their rival by dealing Engram to Buffalo.
Both ideas for the Bills would at least do one thing: Provide an upgrade.
Ertz and Engram have been up-and-down in their careers much like current Bills tight end Dawson Knox. The difference is that their high points have been much better than Knox, while their low points haven’t been as bad.
Both would easily be upgrades.
Naturally such an idea also depends on compensation. What do the Bills have to give up for both players? Additionally, there are contracts to consider.
Ertz will want an extension, that we already know. Engram is also in the final year of his rookie contract, so he’ll be due for a pay day in the future and his contract will have to be restructured.
With a cap hit near $6 million for Engram, Buffalo is only $4.4M under the cap currently, per Spotrac.
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