The Buffalo Bills should be attacking the Nov. 10 NFL trade deadline by adding defensive help, and they could use it at all three levels. But The Athletic’s senior writer, Ted Nguyen, has a specific player and position in mind.
Nguyen made a trade prediction that would send Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker to the Bills for a fourth-round pick.
“The Bills should be aggressive here. They have a window open now, and Josh Allen is playing out of his mind,” Nguyen wrote on Thursday. “They lead the league in points per game, but also allow the most points per drive. They need defensive help badly. (Moro) Ojomo would help the front, and Baker would give Jim Leonhard his playmaking safety on the back end. While Leonhard was with the Broncos, he saw first-hand the impact that Talanoa Hufanga had. Baker has been out of the limelight in Arizona, but with the Bills, the world could see how special he is on the big stage. He could likely be had for a fourth-round pick as he’s 30 and has only one year left on his contract after this season.”
The Bills Would Get a Seasoned Veteran With Baker
Baker has been in the NFL since 2017, has played every season with the Cardinals, has appeared in eight Pro Bowls, and is a two-time first-team All-Pro.
Baker’s latest Pro Bowl appearance came in 2025, and he has made seven straight Pro Bowls.
The Bills would be wise to land Baker, as he could help control the secondary’s back end.
Buffalo allows 285.8 passing yards per game, the second-worst in the NFL, and the Bills should do everything they can to add help to the back end.
Buffalo Missed Out on Jeffery Simmons
The Bills may have missed a good chance to land defensive help on Thursday when the Chicago Bears traded two first-round picks and a fourth-rounder to the Tennessee Titans for defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons.
Few players get traded for multiple first-round picks at the NFL trade deadline, and Simmons might have been the only one moved for that price.
The Bills might not have considered moving for Simmons, but they should have. Buffalo continues to struggle to overcome obstacles on its path to the Super Bowl. Paying two first-round picks for a defensive tackle who turns 30 next July might be steep, but the Bills need to act to overcome the hurdle of not reaching the Super Bowl, and they missed out again.
The Bills have been trying to win a Super Bowl since the 2020 season when Josh Allen was in his third season. That season, the Bills reached the AFC Championship Game but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. Counting the 2020-2021 postseason, the Bills have been on the doorstep of the Super Bowl for the last six seasons.
In contrast, the Bears have made the playoffs only once with Caleb Williams as quarterback, and he is now in his third season. The Bears made a significant move to support him, something the Bills should have done for Allen.
Bills Trade Idea Lands 8-Time Pro Bowler to Boost Struggling Defense