Buffalo Bills dismiss Sammy Watkins trade as move for future

The Buffalo Bills were the story of the first round in the 2014 NFL Draft. In a highly disputed move, the team traded next year’s first and fourth round picks for the right to move up five spots and take WR Sammy Watkins out of Clemson.

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No one seems to agree on the efficacy of the move because no one knows what Watkins will bring at an NFL level. The one thing that Bills management won’t dispute is that they didn’t trade up for Watkins because of the inevitable sale of the franchise coming within the next year or less.

Rather, this was strictly a move to better the football team this year.

“It has nothing to do with the future,” CEO Russ Brandon told NFL.com, “It is everything about the future is now. Everything is about winning. I know it’s a cliché. It has not one iota of an impact on who the future owner may be.”

Those of course are the words Brandon has to say, and football fans will never know for sure the true motivation behind the move.

That said, the Bills undeniably got a player with great talent who will instantly come in as the team’s best receiver.

Whether or not you agree with the move will ultimately depend on what the Bills gave up for that player. If it’s a high first round pick in 2015, the trade is likely a loss.

If the picks comes in the mid to late part of the first round, it might not be so bad.

Either way, management saw it as an acceptable risk. Whether or not that was prompted by job safety concerns, we may never know.

It’s time for this team to put its money where its mouth is. They’ve rolled the dice on their future because for all Brandon and general manager Doug Whaley know, a new owner will come in straight away and let the heads roll in his or her stead.

Better to take the high ground and now and make your stand. The Buffalo Bills have spent 14 years outside of the playoffs. In making the moves they have this year, management has made its message clear. Win now or else.

That message applies to themselves as much as it does the players.

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