With the roster nearly set, Brandon Beane must decide if a veteran edge rusher or linebacker depth is the final piece for Buffalo’s championship puzzle.
Every NFL offseason reaches a point where a general manager has to decide whether the roster is truly finished.
Free agency has slowed to a crawl, the draft has come and gone, and training camp is just around the corner. Most of the heavy lifting has already been done, leaving front offices with a simple question: Is this the team you're willing to take into Week 1?
For the Buffalo Bills, it's a fair question.
Brandon Beane has already had an aggressive offseason. He traded for DJ Moore to give Josh Allen another proven playmaker, signed Bradley Chubb in hopes of strengthening the pass rush, and used the draft to add young talent on both sides of the ball. On paper, Buffalo enters training camp with one of the deepest and most balanced rosters it's had in years.
That doesn't necessarily mean the work is over.
Championship teams are rarely satisfied in July. They continue looking for ways to improve, whether that's signing a veteran free agent, making a late trade or waiting until the end of training camp, when unexpected roster cuts create new opportunities around the league.
The Bills should have that mindset, too.
The key isn't making a move for the sake of making one. Buffalo doesn't need another offseason headline, and forcing a signing simply because a recognizable name is available often creates more problems than it solves. Any addition at this stage needs to address a real need and have a realistic path to contributing this season.
If there's one position that still makes sense, it's edge rusher.
Greg Rousseau has developed into one of the cornerstones of the defense, and Bradley Chubb gives Buffalo another experienced pass rusher. The question is how much the Bills can realistically expect from Chubb over a full season. T.J. Parker has plenty of upside, but counting on a rookie to immediately become a consistent difference-maker is a gamble for any contender.
Adding another veteran wouldn't necessarily mean someone has lost the job. It would simply give Buffalo another experienced option at one of the league's most important positions, while also protecting the defense if injuries become an issue later in the season.
Linebacker is another position worth monitoring.
Terrel Bernard remains one of the leaders of the defense, but the depth behind the starting unit still has more questions than some of Buffalo's other position groups. If a veteran linebacker unexpectedly becomes available during roster cutdowns, the Bills should at least explore whether that player represents an upgrade.
That may ultimately be where Buffalo finds its next addition.
Every August, productive veterans become available because of roster numbers rather than performance. Contending teams are usually the first to make those phone calls, looking for players who can strengthen the bottom half of the roster without requiring a major financial commitment or trade compensation.
The Bills have earned the right to feel good about where they stand entering training camp. They've addressed many of the questions that existed at the end of last season and appear to have assembled a roster capable of competing for a Super Bowl.
Even so, the best front offices never assume they're finished.
Whether it's a free agent like Jadeveon Clowney or swinging a trade for someone like Kayvon Thibodeaux or Brian Thomas Jr, if Beane believes there's one more move that can improve this roster before Week 1, he shouldn't hesitate to make it.
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