On Friday morning, the Buffalo Bills made the shocking decision to pull the trigger on a trade that sent wide receiver Sammy Watkins to the Los Angeles Rams.
This immediately caused many fans to question the direction of the franchise following the move. In light of that, former Bills great and Hall of Famer Jim Kelly believes fans should keep faith in the team's future outlook.
“I'm a former player,” he said during a visit to Sunday’s training camp practice at St. John Fisher College. “You want to win. You want to win now. I get it. I understand that. It's not always that way with all fans. But the ones who really do get it, understand it, that know the game of football — [they know] that sometimes these things take a little longer. Never would anyone of us expect 17 years not being able to see a January football game.
“Just got to keep your hope, stay on the wagon, hopefully it's sooner rather than later.”
At the moment, it's hard for Bills fans to do just that given that they moved one of their most productive players over the last few seasons. In fact, Watkins notched 153 receptions for 2,459 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns in 37 total games played through his first three years.
He is also just two seasons removed from his best campaign in 2015, where had a career-high 1,047 receiving yards on 60 receptions and nine touchdowns. He had become the team's top receiving threat in the process despite his struggles with his durability over last season that saw him miss eight games due to a broken foot.
Regardless of having Watkins on the team or not, the Bill have bigger problems to face within their own division against the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins, who also made the playoffs last year. This will just place more responsibility for recently signed receiver Anquan Boldin and trade acquisition Jordan Matthews in the passing game.
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