My least favorite offseason move by the Buffalo Bills

The Bills should be commended for an outstanding offseason, but one signing stood out—for the wrong reason

The Buffalo Bills had many glaring holes entering the 2019 offseason, needing to shore up a depleted offensive line, infuse talent to a lackluster wide-receiver group, add depth to the cornerback position, and bolster a pass rush that ranked 26th in the league in sacks in 2018.

The tight end position was another area of concern heading into the offseason, and once Buffalo released veteran Charles Clay, it became apparent the team was in the market for a tight end to pair with Jason Croom, who possesses talent but has underwhelmed during his time on the field.

Buffalo was extremely active in free agency, adding 20 new faces in an effort to infuse quality players to a roster in need of significant upgrades following a 6-10 campaign in 2018.

In my opinion, Beane has done a good job overhauling the roster and positioning the Bills for a playoff run in 2019 and beyond. He succeeded in providing significant upgrades to the offensive line, led by Mitch Morse, Quinton Spain, Ty Nsekhe, and Spencer Long, and added two play-making wide receivers in John Brown and Cole Beasley.

When looking for an area where Buffalo came up short this offseason, I settled on the tight end position—in part because I didn’t feel there were many other areas where Buffalo whiffed.

The group of free-agent tight ends was a less-than-impressive collection of players, with Jesse James, Tyler Kroft, Jared Cook, and Tyler Eifert “leading” the class of free agents.

Knowing his team needed help at the position, the Bills inked Kroft to a three-year deal worth $18.75 million. At the time, the move was viewed by many with skepticism, as Kroft was coming off a debilitating foot injury that forced him to miss 11 games in 2018 and land on the season-ending injured-reserve list.

In theory, the benefits to signing Kroft are there. Listed at 6’6” and 250 lbs, Kroft would provide Josh Allen with a talented red-zone threat, and has shown himself to be a more than capable blocker.

But the Bills gave out a lot of money to an oft-injured free agent whose most productive receiving season was 2017, when he hauled in 42 passes for 404 yards (with an impressive seven touchdowns).

Making matters worse, during Organized Team Activities (OTAs), Kroft broke the same foot he injured during the 2018 season and his status for the start of the regular season is in jeopardy.

It’s easy in hindsight to pick the Kroft signing as my least favorite, especially after the foot injury. But even before Kroft suffered another foot injury, this move didn’t excite me.

To Beane’s credit, the contract for Kroft isn’t terrible, as most of the guaranteed money is absorbed during the first year of the three-year deal.

Buffalo also addressed the position by signing blocking tight end Lee Smith to a three-year deal, and by drafting rookies Dawson Knox and Tommy Sweeney.

While Beane has brought in a slew of candidates to fill the tight-end role, committing that much money to a player like Kroft, who has yet to establish himself as a reliable pass-catcher, can be viewed as a risky move, especially when the team could have explored a trade for Kyle Rudolph of the Minnesota Vikings instead.

Since the start of the 2016 season, Rudolph has caught 204 passes for 2,006 yards with 19 touchdowns. Only Travis Kelce and Zach Ertz have more receptions and touchdowns during that span, while only Ertz, Kelce, Jimmy Graham and Eric Ebron have more receiving yards than Rudolph.

The Kroft signing carried some risk with it, and earns my vote for my least favorite offseason move during a signing period where the Bills connected more than they missed. Now it’s your turn, Bills fans. What is your least favorite offseason move by the Bills? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.

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