Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane has continued making moves. The Buffalo Bills traded left tackle Cordy Glenn, the 21st overall pick, and a fifth-round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals. In return, they receive the 12th overall pick, and a sixth round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. This trade puts Buffalo closer to the top five and gives Cincinnati a starter at left tackle without losing a first-round pick. This trade means a few things for the Bills as they continue their quest towards a franchise quarterback.
Breaking Down The Cordy Glenn Trade
Dion Dawkins is the Future
One thing the Glenn trade means is that they have faith in second year tackle Dion Dawkins. Dawkins put up solid grades in his rookie season and showed a lot of promise. This promise must have been a contributing factor into the Bills decision to move on from Glenn. Dawkins will most likely assume the starting left tackle role and the Bills will put either Jordan Mills or a free agent at right tackle.
Bills Get Closer To Top Draft Picks
The Buffalo Bills have been a storm of rumors of the past few weeks over trading up in the draft. This most recent move says that these are more than just rumors. The Bills traded Tyrod Taylor last week leaving Nathan Peterman as the only quarterback on the roster. This is a glaring reason as to why the Bills will definitely be adding at least one quarterback to the roster. Buffalo is leaving no stone unturned in their quest for the draft. They have now infiltrated the top 15 and the top 10 and five are their next target. The New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts, and Cleveland Browns own all the picks in the top four and they all are potential trade targets for the Bills. With six picks in the top 100 the Bills have plenty of ammo to move up.
Bills Continue to Increase Cap Space
The Bills have had a pretty decent amount of cap space in recent memory. This is mainly due to never having to sign a quarterback to a major extension. Or when they do, never seeing the contract out. The Bills are now projected to have over $100+ million next off-season. This is a direct result of Brandon Beane’s ability to dump the Bills bad contracts through trades. Beane in his tenure has already removed the contracts of Marcell Dareus, Tyrod Taylor, and now Glenn. Trading Glenn saved the Bills $4.25 million this season and roughly $20 million over the next three years. The Bills are will big players for some of the league’s top free agents over the next few off-seasons. It will be a nice change from the past few off-seasons. Buffalo’s last big free agency signing was Mario Williams.
Brandon Beane Continues to Look Like An Excellent Hire
Brandon Beane came to the Bills last off-season from the Carolina Panthers. He quickly got to work rebuilding the team’s roster. He started to weed out the players of the Rex Ryan era and brought in his own players. His off-season highlights included making the most out of the Bills late first round pick and drafted the runner-up defensive rookie of the year. He also signed Pro Bowl safety Micah Hyde and Pro Bowl snub safety Jordan Poyer. The Poyer signing was an early flash of his excellent talent evaluation ability.
Now he is showing off his negotiation skills. After dumping Marcell Dareus’ salary for a sixth rounder mid-season, he followed up by turning two players on their way out into a third round pick and the 12th pick of the first round. That is an extraordinary turn around in value. Beane will further prove himself as we get closer to his first draft as the official general manager, which could see him make another trade leading to a franchise quarterback. Something Bills fans have been clamoring for since Jim Kelly retired.
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