NFL analyst misses the mark with critical take on Bills’ wide receiver plan from the 2025 NFL offseason

Walder was overall quite complementary of Buffalo's offseason, giving it a 'B+' grade for the overall effort. But the team's signing of veteran wide receiver Josh Palmer raised some flags. The primary concern, as Walder lays out, is whether or not Palmer is a good enough player to invest heavily into and if his presence locks the Bills out of any additional upgrade opportunities they may end up needing this year or next, a la Amari Cooper. 

"Buffalo's "big" move at receiver was signing Palmer in free agency. Palmer is an uninspiring choice given his 1.6 yards per route run last season (and failure to ever reach 1.9 yards per route run in a season) despite playing with Justin Herbert in Los Angeles. When the Bills didn't draft a wide receiver until the seventh round, GM Brandon Beane took issue with the criticism.

The reality is that wide receiver is a weakness, but the Bills are also basically capped out -- they have almost no room in 2025 and are well over the 2026 cap -- so it was going to be tough to bring aboard a better veteran. Given the Bills' status as a Super Bowl contender, I don't think it was wrong to critique their decision to not select a wide receiver in the first three rounds of the draft. That means Keon Coleman, the No. 33 pick in 2024, will have to take a big step in Year 2."

- ESPN's Seth Walder

Walder's point is fair but when you consider where Buffalo sits at this juncture, Palmer's presence shouldn't be considered the blockade to any splash moves. Yes, he'll occupy a roster spot in the wide receiver room that might otherwise go to a new player if an opportunity arose. But from a salary cap management perspective, Buffalo has massive amounts of restructure potential for the 2026 season and still has a few dominoes yet to fall from a restructure standpoint before the 2025 season starts. 

It's better to not execute these moves until you know you need it and Buffalo has base salary wiggle room in a number of their mid-level contracts that could allow for more space to open if needed beyond just the necessary operating salary cap that comes with a practice squad throughout the year.

Does that set the stage for this team to be in a position to trade for a $30 million receiver? Of course not. But they have structured their contracts in such a way that if a move were needed, the Bills have the wiggle room to make it happen. 

The team is, of course, hoping that between the signing of Palmer and the continued development of their top draft choices from both the 2023 and 2024 NFL Drafts (Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid) that no swing for the fences with another Amari Cooper is needed. Let's be fair, too. Cooper wasn't good in Buffalo. But he also came to the team with an $800k cost against the salary cap because the Browns had paid most of his salary up front. 

That would be an easily attainable figure for any team to fit under their cap in any year, regardless of what cap challenges lie in wait for them. The Bills also hedged with the addition of Elijah Moore this offseason as well, a twitchy route runner who has yet to live up to his potential but has plenty of juice in his game. 

Beane and his team took enough bites at the apple at wide receiver to feel like they have someone who will ultimately step up. If that doesn't happen, the Cooper play in the playbook should easily be waiting for them if they need it, with or without Josh Palmer in the fray.