Before Antonio Brown was traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Las Vegas Raiders last offseason, there was actually a trade in place for him to go to the Buffalo Bills. Just a year after the trade fell through, Buffalo's general manager, Brandon Beane, discussed the failed trade involving Brown (from the Pardon My Take podcast).
“You know what? Here’s one of the lines we have: Sometimes the best moves are the ones you don’t make … And that happens. And that’s so true. Sometimes you’ve had a guy and you almost got him and at the last minute you didn’t and then something happened. He got hurt the first week of OTAs or the first game of the season and you’re going, ‘Man that would have cost me $12 million on my cap,’ or something like that. I would say sometimes on this one the best moves are the ones you don’t make.”
Following Brown's trade to the Raiders, he never played a single snap with them after becoming a headache off of the field. Of course, Brown remains in free agency due to a bevy of concerns — including an ongoing sexual assault case.
It's safe to say that the Bills dodged a bullet by not acquiring the former All-Pro wide receiver. Had Buffalo completed the trade for Brown, there's a chance they don't make the playoffs in 2019. After missing out on Brown, the Bills signed John Brown instead, who performed well in his first season with the team.
While they didn't get the former Pro Bowler last offseason, the Bills did acquire Stefon Diggs in a trade earlier this offseason. There's no doubt that Beane hopes the trade for Diggs doesn't make him eat his words, like they could have with Brown.
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