Once the NFL preseason starts, there are hardly any surprises when it comes to roster spots. Outside of injuries, such as the one that caused the Miami Dolphins to sign a retired quarterback like Jay Cutler, no one expects any other huge shocks. The Buffalo Bills turned the NFL on its head with a surprising out-of-nowhere trade on Friday involving the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles.
The Buffalo Bills traded their top wide receiver and former No. 1 draft pick Sammy Watkins to the Los Angeles Rams along with the team's 2018 sixth round draft pick.
In exchange, the Los Angeles Rams sent their 2018 second round draft pick and cornerback E.J. Gaines to the Buffalo Bills. A third team in the trade, the Philadelphia Eagles, received former Bills cornerback Ronald Darby and sent their 2018 third round pick to Buffalo.
Buffalo Bills
So, the Buffalo Bills gave away their best wide receiver but this isn't as bad as it sounds. Jordan Matthews is a pretty good receiver although he wasn't explosive with Carson Wentz throwing the ball last season. Tyrod Taylor is a better quarterback than anyone gives him credit for and he should make Matthews better.
The problem here is that both Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods are both gone now and Tyrod Taylor has to find his comfort level with Matthews, newly signed veteran Anquan Boldin, and second-round rookie Zay Jones.
That is not pretty.
However, the Buffalo Bills added two nice draft picks to the 2018 NFL Draft. They might just be looking forward to next year already.
Los Angeles Rams
No one expects the Los Angeles Rams to set the world on fire this season although there are some who think they are a great sleeper pick to somehow sneak into playoff contention.
However, Jared Goff was one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL in 2016 and only Sean McVay can hope to turn him around.
Having Sammy Watkins to throw the ball to could do that. Now, Watkins has not remained healthy his entire NFL career, so that is a worry. Interestingly, Watkins bragged that he was going to change how the NFL gives out contracts when he becomes a free agent and had big demands.
Playing for a weak Rams team will kill a lot of his value next season. There was almost no chance he was going to resign for a reasonable deal in 2018 so the Buffalo Bills had to cut ties now to protect their future. The Rams have to hope he pays off this year.
Philadelphia Eagles
That leaves the Philadelphia Eagles. They lost Jordan Matthews but don't seem concerned because Nelson Agholor has been amazing in training camp and they still have Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith. Bringing in Ronald Darby fixes their one glaring hole on defense and they lost little to do it.
