The NFL trade deadline is set for Tuesday at 4 p.m. EST, and teams with real championship hopes are expected to be active. That’s the kind of moment that puts Buffalo’s front office under the microscope, especially if Brandon Beane decides to make a move to help the roster and strengthen the defense.
But there’s also a reminder built into Bills history about how a trade can look one way in the moment and completely different years later. One of the clearest examples is Marshawn Lynch, whose departure to Seattle still stands out as one of the franchise’s biggest regrets.
Cody Williams of FanSided.com ranked the worst trade in each NFL team’s history, and Buffalo’s deal involving Lynch landed on that list. Williams pointed to what happened after the move as the reason it still stings.
" Beast Mode reached his peak in Seattle after the trade. Not only did he become a Seahawks icon, but he was a four-time Pro Bowler with the Seahawks alone (he earned one nod in Buffalo) and helped the team to a Super Bowl victory. The Bills clearly sold entirely too low and deservedly have been criticized for this trade since."
Williams also noted Lynch’s off-field issues early in his career, which made the decision understandable at the time. Buffalo also had C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson in the mix, so the backfield wasn’t empty when the team moved on.
Still, the return didn’t age well. The Bills sent Lynch to Seattle in the middle of the 2010 season and got back a fourth-round pick and a conditional sixth-round pick.
What followed in Seattle made the deal look even rougher from Buffalo’s side. Lynch played for the Seahawks through 2015, then appeared in one game with them in 2019.
During his prime there, including that stretch after the trade, he ran for 6,347 yards and 57 rushing touchdowns. He also helped Seattle win three division titles, reach two Super Bowls, and take home one championship.
The contrast is hard to miss. Buffalo managed just one winning season and finished fourth in the AFC East three times during that same span. That’s why this trade still sits there as one of the franchise’s most painful what-ifs.
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