Buffalo Bills Linked to Rare $60 Million Trade With AFC Contender

The Buffalo Bills definitely need to head back to the drawing board this offseason after yet another painful playoff exit, but the problem is that their financial situation is an absolute mess.

The Bills are currently $9.9 million over the salary cap with free agency on the horizon, so Buffalo will certainly need to do some finagling in the coming weeks.

It also means that the Bills may to make some painful roster decisions.

Bleacher Report's Alex Ballentine feels that trading offensive tackle Dion Dawkins is a possibility.

"Trades involving left tackles of Dion Dawkins caliber are incredibly rare," Ballentine wrote. "The Trent Williams trade in 2020 is a rare exception and the Texans decision to trade Laremy Tunsil last season is the only other one that springs to mind."

Ballentine then named Houston as a potential landing spot for Dawkins.

"In both cases, the trade probably worked out better for the team acquiring the tackle," Ballentine added. "That's why the Texans might want to call up the Buffalo Bills and see if trading Dion Dawkins might be part of their plan to get their books right for the 2026 offseason."

Dawkins has two years remaining on the three-year, $60 million contract extension he signed with Buffalo in March 2024. Trading him would free up about $15.5 million in cap space this offseason ... but it would also cost them nearly $30 million in dead cap charges.

So is this really something the Bills would consider?

Even though Dawkins turns 32 years old in April, he remains one of the best tackles in football. He posted an 81.5 pass-blocking grade at Pro Football Focus this year, and he has a very close relationship with Josh Allen, to boot.

Is there a world in which Buffalo would actually improve by moving Dawkins?

The unfortunate reality is that the Bills may have no other choice but to jettison a key player if they want to open up any money in the coming months.

And that's just the problem for Buffalo right now: it doesn't have a whole lot of financial wiggle room to get better, and if ridding itself of a star player like Dawkins is the only way to clear cash, is it really worth it (especially given the financial implications moving forward)?

It's going to be a very difficult spring for the Bills' organization, but based on the fact that they still have not been able to get over the hump, sweeping changes — or at leas significant ones — might be needed.

That already started with Buffalo's decision to fire Sean McDermott and replace him with Joe Brady. Perhaps more moves are coming.

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