Did the Bills start a Trend in the NFL?

[Mahdi]

Since McDermott and Beane have taken control they have been making all kinds of trades and picking up cheap FAs to replace them.

Have they started something new in the NFL? Historically, the trade deadline in the NFL was a non-event. Over the last few days teams have realized, it seems, that getting rid of unwanted/unused stars to other teams for capital is a useful strategy since watching the Bills have success after having moved key players like Watkins, Darby and Dareus while getting high end production out of no-name guys.

It looks to me like making player for player deals and moving players for picks will now be a regular occurrence and the Bills seem to have gotten that ball rolling.

[Forward_Lateral]

New England has been doing it for years.

[psubills62]

Whaley made some trades before Beane ever got here. Trading for Hughes and McCoy might be two of the best trades we've ever made.

In general, I feel like we're seeing more trades this year for sure.

[Mahdi]

New England has been doing it for years.

That's true however it never took off. Maybe because the Patriots have been successful for so long with and without trades and most would probably say it was because of Brady and Belichick anyway.

While the Bills have been getting rid of their best players and have been better for it. It seems like it has encouraged others to think that their teams would also be better off getting rid of top players in order to get back a player or a pick or both.

[Homegrown]

Better trend .... winning the SB after 17 seasons without a playoff appearance

[OpIv37]

Well two things:

The Bills were a team with a lot of needs due to a combination of deficiencies and coaching/system changes. They got a GM late in the game who didn't have a full off-season to make an impact. Because of this, the Bills seem to be using trades as a continuation of the off-season to the extent that they can.

Second, while this is a particularly active trade deadline, it's one year so by definition, it can't be a trend. Perhaps teams are emboldened by Buffalo's success and more willing to deal, but whether that continues next season depends on the results of this season's trades. If teams aren't happy with their results, NFL trade deadline will be back to just another Tuesday next year.

[EDS]

Are we talking about the Marshawn Lynch trade?