How Bills’ Sean McDermott sells Buffalo to free agents

What Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott said about free agency.

The Bills are at the 2020 NFL Combine in Indianapolis this week, figuring out who to put on their draft board ahead of April’s 2020 NFL Draft.

But there’s business to attend to in the middle. As the combine is underway, next up for the Bills and their front office led by general manager Brandon Beane is free agency in March. Who will stay? Who will go? Who will arrive?

While Beane steers the ship, but Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott certainly plays a part in adding potential free agents, too. While on GMFB from the combine on Wednesday, McDermott discussed the message the sends to potential free agents who he could be coveting. Exactly how does he convince players to join the Bills?

The coach said he tries to bring a realistic, honest approach to free agents. One that extends beyond the football field.

“It just comes down to, simply, we’ve got a tremendous culture, a tremendous locker room, and really it’s about a transformational type of locker room, type of culture, as opposed to transactional,” McDermott said. “You come to Buffalo, you’ll become the best version of you that you’ve ever been before. On the field and off the field. Whether it’s college players coming to us via the draft or via free agency with pro players, that’s what we’ve done and that’s what the players have done and that’s really a credit to everyone in our building.”

McDermott’s formula and eye for talent has seemed to work as the Bills have had few busts via free agency. The Bills have touted their preference to build their team through the draft, which is what the organization has mostly done, but the foundation was laid by guys such as Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer in the secondary. They joined the Bills even before Tre’Davious White did, who was McDermott’s first ever draft pick as a head coach in 2017.

Of course, there’s guys like Trent Murphy who aren’t exactly working out perfectly, but the Bills have found a way to nab players with a straight-forward approach. McDermott & Beane will hope that mindset helps them retain their drafted guys in the coming years as well, such as White, who will need contract extensions.

For more from McDermott’s segment, see the attached video below:

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