There was a distinct chance that Wyatt Teller wouldn’t be rooting for the Bills this weekend. That scenario would have come if his team won on Sunday and he was facing his former teammates.
That’s understandable.
However, Buffalo trading him to Cleveland creates no hard feelings in him, he said on Tuesday.
Reflecting on the season that was for him after the Browns lost to Buffalo’s upcoming opponent in the Divisional round, the Kansas City Chiefs, Teller took a second to look ahead to next weekend. Teller said his heart is pulling for the Bills in the AFC Championship Game.
“I hope the best for them and all the success to them,” Teller said per Browns Wire. “Josh (Allen), I’ve texted him multiple times, Harrison Phillips, Ike Boettger, a bunch of the guys on the offensive line. Dion Dawkins, I made sure to say hey to him. FaceTimed him a couple times.”
Teller also expressed being thankful the Bills were the team to draft him back in 2018.
“They gave me my shot. They drafted me there,” Teller said. “I understand it’s business. I kind of grew a part of that family there. I love Bills Mafia. I’m pulling for ’em. I wish the best for ’em.”
Just ahead of the 2019 season, the Bills dealt Teller to the Browns. Buffalo made an effort to bolster their offensive line prior to last season and hoped competition would do it. The Bills signed guys like Jon Feliciano and Quinton Spain… in the process, there were others left on the outside looking in and among those were Teller.
Buffalo shipped him and a 2021 seventh-round pick to to the Browns for fifth and sixth-round pick, both of which were in 2020.
The fallout from this trade is both good and bad for the Bills in the end.
For Teller, it’s all good on his end. He’s an anchor for the Browns now and Pro Football Focus grades him as the best guard in the entire NFL from this past season. On the flip side, Bills gave up Teller, who was a fifth-round pick himself, for two late-round picks. Not good business for a guy that ended up being a very highly-praised prospect.
But the Bills did make those two picks count. That fifth rounder? It was part of the package that helped the Bills land wide receiver Stefon Diggs. That sixth-round pick? That became kicker Tyler Bass and after settling in, he looks to be Buffalo’s answer at kicker for the very long time.
While Teller could be a guy that would make the Buffalo offense line a better unit right now … the Bills certainly did make those two picks count.
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