Bills trade Watkins to Rams, get Matthews from Eagles
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills’ offseason overhaul isn’t over yet now that receiver Sammy Watkins and cornerback Ronald Darby became the latest players to be sent packing.
The Bills dealt both starters in separate blockbuster trades Friday in an effort to reshape the roster under new coach Sean McDermott.
Watkins was traded to the Los Angeles Rams, while Darby was sent to the Philadelphia Eagles. Buffalo addressed both positions by acquiring receiver Jordan Matthews from Philadelphia and cornerback E.J. Gaines from the Rams.
The Bills also continued looking to the future by further stockpiling 2018 draft selections. They acquired a second-round pick from L.A. and a third-rounder from the Eagles, while also sending a sixth-round pick to the Rams. Buffalo now has two picks in each of the first three rounds next year after acquiring the Kansas City Chiefs firstround selection in April.
The additional picks provide Bills general manager Brandon Beane assets in a draft that looks as if it will have several top-end quarterback prospects. Bills starter Tyrod Taylor’s future is uncertain beyond this season.
McDermott acknowledged his most difficult challenge was not merely breaking the news of Watkins’ departure to Taylor. “I’ll take it a step further: How do you sell it to the entire team?” McDermott said, before outlining his message.
“You put one step in front of the other and we move on,” he said. “I asked them to continue to trust me and our decisions in terms of what we’re doing.” Just don’t call it a rebuilding plan, Beane said. “This is not a throw-in-the-towel thing at all,” Beane said. “If we were throwing in the towel, I wouldn’t be trying to get that starting receiver back.”
The deals, however, involve more changes to a team with just 28 players who opened training camp on Buffalo’s roster a year ago. The Bills also have just 14 players whom they’ve drafted, not including this year’s six-player class.
The trades caught Bills players by surprise a day after a 17-10 preseason-opening loss to Minnesota.
“It’s tough to lose a guy like Sammy,” Taylor said. “We have to put a positive lining. It’s a winnow league. And as a team, we have to refocus, do whatever it takes to win games.”
Watkins’ future in Buffalo was already in question after the Bills declined to pick up his fifthyear contract option in May. Matthews is also entering the final season of his contract.
When healthy, Watkins showed glimpses of being a dynamic threat since Buffalo gave up a 2015 first-round pick to trade up five spots and select him fourth overall in 2014. He has 153 catches for 2,459 yards and 17 touchdowns in three seasons, but topped 1,000 yards just once, in 2015.
Watkins has been hampered by an assortment of injuries and limited to playing just eight games last season after having surgery for a broken left foot.