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The Buffalo Bills have their initial 53-man roster set for the start of the 2022 NFL season, but general manager Brandon Beane and superstar linebacker Von Miller are already thinking about what that lineup could look like down the road.
The biggest move the Bills made this offseason was signing Miller to a monster six-year, $120 million deal, and over the past few months, the two-time Super Bowl champion has been pushing hard to bring another superstar to Buffalo, wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.
While speaking to the media on Thursday, September 1, Beane broke his silence on Miller’s strong push to recruit the three-time Pro Bowler.
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“Anything Von says I’m going to respect,” Beane said. “Guys that have been around, knows what it takes, knows what it looks like. They’re going to offer up what they think — I’m going to give them the time of day. Why wouldn’t I respect what he thinks? He’s been great…. Von wants to win. And I want to surround myself with as many people like that as I can.”
As for whether or not the Bills could afford to bring in a player like OBJ, Beane said the team is currently about $2.4 million to $2.8 million under the cap after adding up all 53 active players, those on injured reserve, and the practice squad.
“I know he’s recovering from an ACL… He’s a talented player. Show me a talented player that I’m not checking into. I’m always going to do that. Whether that’s trade for someone, let a guy get healthy. Again, this cap factors into it, too.”
While $2.8 million won’t be enough money to sign a player of Beckham’s caliber, where there’s a will, there’s a way, especially for a team that’s Super Bowl or bust.
The Buffalo News reporter Jay Skurski wrote on August 12, “Acquiring Beckham will require Beane to get even more creative with the cap than he already has. Beane has tried to limit just how far he kicks the can down the road in regards to the salary cap, but this is a special circumstance in which he would be justified in doing it again. Beckham’s that good.”
Beckham Made it Clear That He’s Interested in Joining the Bills
During an interview on The Pat McAfee Show last month, Miller made a public plea for Beane to bring his former Los Angeles Rams teammate to Buffalo.
“I have an open locker right next to me. Odell is my guy,” Miller told McAfee. “You don’t have too many friends outside of football. Of course, I have colleagues that I know, but he’s one of my good buddies. I’ve been knowing him for a long time, over six, seven years. He’s trying to work himself to get back healthy, but the door is open for him to come to the Buffalo Bills.
“I know Odell loves to win. Everybody loves to win. We’ve got a winning team. Him really being here would just put the icing on the cake and put us over the top.”
Before appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, Miller appeared to be working to lure Beckham to Buffalo by showing off hyped training camp content on Instagram.
Miller shared a video of himself running out to practice at St. John Fisher University on Sunday, August 7, and captioned the post, “U KNO IM LIT 😵💫😤😎🌪,” and the unbridled excitement expressed in the pass rusher’s post caught Beckham’s attention.
“U beeeen litttt!!!! @vonmiller what’s the locker next to u loook like 👀!!!??” Beckham wrote in the comments section, a bold message that turned heads on both Instagram and Twitter.
Miller then responded to Beckham’s comment with a separate post on his Instagram Stories on Monday, August 8. Miller posted a photo of Beckham in a Bills uniform wrote, “@ojb Let’s chase this ring… AGAIN.”
Following the back and forth between Miller and OBJ on Monday, Cover 1 host Greg Thompsett tweeted, “For the #BillsMafia OBJ debates – the team is inarguably better with him – no they don’t NEED him – he won’t be ready until roughly December for 6-ish games + playoffs- he won’t sign with any team for a while to see his rehab timeline AND what team poised to win needs him.”
Von Urged Beane to Recruit New Punter Sam Miller
GettySam Martin #6 of the Denver Broncos punts against the Detroit Lions at Empower Field At Mile High on December 12, 2021 in Denver, Colorado.
As for how much influence Miller may have as a new player in Buffalo — a lot. Beane proved that he wasn’t exaggerating on how much he respects the eight-time Pro Bowler’s opinion by telling reports on Thursday that it was the edge rusher that texted him about signing former Denver Broncos punter Sam Martin.
He’s been great. We’ve talked about players that he hasn’t put on social media before. Von sent me a text about Sam Martin. He’s not just looking at the guys out there that you see. ”
While several punters tried out for the Bills following rookie Matt Araiza’s release, Beane said that there were several reasons why they ultimately picked Martin, 32. “Sam’s not the guy that has the hugest leg, that’s not his strength, he has a fine leg but accuracy, ball placement, that’s probably his best,” Beane said, per News 4 Buffalo reporter Heather Prusak.
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