The Buffalo Bills deactivated Mike Williams for their game over the weekend and that led the agent for the WR to request a trade from the team and while a deal may not go down, teams like the NY Giants, Jets and New England Patriots all could be interested in making a move, especially the Giants after losing Victor Cruz with a season ending injury.
According to ESPN.com, coach Doug Marrone said that Williams was deactivated for the game against the New England Patriots on Sunday due to issues with the scheme the team used against the Pats. Bills general manager Doug Whaley said that while the team is not shopping Williams at this time, they would be willing to hear offers and now Williams' agent has asked to gauge interest. Williams was traded to the Bills this offseason for a draft pick and the team also traded away WR Stevie Johnson in a separate deal with the Niners.
Williams was reunited with his college coach Doug Marrone, but so far this season he has been a non-factor and wideout Robert Woods has moved ahead of him on the depth chart. Williams has just eight catches for 142 yards and a touchdown this season and while Marrone explained that it had to do with the game plan, he also said Williams was very disappointed. This offseason the Bills traded a sixth round pick for Williams and that is likely what Whaley would want in return in any deal. The Giants have Odell Beckham, Rueben Randle and Corey Washington after Cruz was injured, but they may look for another option on the trade market as well.
The Patriots won over the Bills again on Sunday and Buffalo has mostly been sputtering on offense and now Kyle Orton is in for EJ Manuel at QB. The team drafted Sammy Watkins as their first round pick and they also have CJ Spiller and Fred Jackson as playmakers at RB. The team was just sold and now they have new owners and while Williams came out on Twitter to say that he was happy being in Buffalo, there still is a chance a trade could go down.
Giants coach Tom Coughlin has Syracuse connections and has Justin Pugh and Ryan Nassib on his team, but it's more likely the Giants sit tight with what they have on the roster. The Giants have Odell Beckham, Rueben Randle and Corey Washington with Cruz now out for the season and those will be the players they use to replace him. The Jets have been dealing with subpar play at the WR position and could look at Williams, while the Patriots also are in need of some playmakers on the outside.
With the way Williams has performed this season, it's likely that the Bills hang onto him because most teams won't give up draft picks for that. Williams is making $1.6 million this season and his 2015 salary at $5.2 million is a lot for a player playing like he is. Most teams will not want to take that on even while dealing with injuries and that likely will keep Williams in Buffalo.
