The Bills are a month out from the 2026 NFL trade deadline, and the clock is already ticking on Brandon Beane.
Buffalo has until Tuesday, November 10, at 4 p.m. to make a move, and the market has already started to move around them. One recent example: the Philadelphia Eagles dealt two-time Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens to the Baltimore Ravens for a 2027 5th-round pick and a 2028 2nd-round pick.
So what should Buffalo actually be chasing? On a recent episode of BKL Makes Me Wanna Shout!, four different ideas came into focus - and they all point toward the same thing: the Bills should be aggressive.
Matt Parrino wants another playmaker for Josh Allen, and he’s looking all the way to Arizona. His target is Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., a player who entered the league with huge expectations but has not found his footing with the Cardinals. Parrino believes the price may have softened enough to make a swing realistic.
“There are very few times in the NFL when you have a chance to potentially acquire a player, a top-five overall pick kind of player, where things just have not gone right,” Parrino said. “And I’m talking about Arizona wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
There’s a lot to be concerned about, right? But I think the upside of that kind of move is something where you take a risk and you’re willing to give up maybe a little capital that probably isn’t going to cost the same as it would have even a month ago, before the start of the season.
You might be able to get him for a Day 2 pick at this point.”
The Cardinals aren’t going to simply hand him over, but the logic is straightforward enough: Buffalo should at least make the call and see whether Arizona would listen.
Ryan Talbot took a different route and focused on the secondary. His idea is a straight-up swap with Green Bay, sending running back Ray Davis to the Packers for cornerback Keisean Nixon.
“(Nixon’s) a player who’s in the final year of his contract. He kind of went through it a little bit with the coaching staff in the offseason, where they weren’t guaranteeing him a starting spot coming off a great year. I think he can be had, and maybe it’s a straight-up trade.”
The fit makes sense from both sides. Green Bay has struggled to run the ball, and Davis could help there while also bringing value as a returner.
He’s still under rookie contract control for another year, which gives the Packers something to think about. For Buffalo, Nixon would step in as a starting option opposite Christian Benford, with Max Hairston and Davison Igbinosun still rotating behind them.
The goal here is simple: deepen the cornerback room and make it sturdier.
Carl Jones pushed the Bills toward linebacker help, and he pointed directly at the defending NFC East race for a possible answer. His name is Zack Baun, and Jones sees a player worth pursuing if Philadelphia is willing to talk.
“For me, I’ll go to the linebacker position if we want to shore that up... Kick the tires on Zack Baun, a former first-team All-Pro linebacker,” said Jones.
“See what it would take to go get him. Clearly, the Eagles are always a progressive organization, thinking of the future.
I mean, it doesn’t get much better than Zack Baun at the linebacker position if he could be had for, I don’t know, a second- or third-round pick. And don’t forget, Zack Baun played at Wisconsin under Jim Leonhard.
Highlight Howie Roseman and see what he’s talking about.”
Philadelphia is 2-2, so the Eagles are still very much alive in the NFC East. Even so, a day-two pick for a 30-year-old linebacker would be hard to ignore.
Then there’s the biggest swing of all: go get a true No. 1 cornerback, no matter the cost. That was the most ambitious pitch of the bunch, but also the one that speaks most directly to Buffalo’s ceiling.
“If you want this defense to take a real shot, add yourself a number-one, high-end cornerback,” said Reed. “It’s going to cost you a ton in draft capital.
I get it, those guys aren’t just readily available, but do it. Then maybe it gives Jim Leonhard a chance to do exactly what he wants to do.”
That kind of move would require Beane to be bold with draft capital, but the argument is clear: Josh Allen is 30 years old, so the Bills need to push now rather than wait. Landing a high-end corner would be difficult, but if Buffalo wants to make a real run at elevating the defense, it has to at least explore the possibility.
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