Bills Get Good News on Rumored WR Trade Target
The Buffalo Bills could be seeking some help for their offense at the upcoming NFL trade deadline, and the path to one talented wide receiver may have just gotten a bit easier.
The Bills have struggled on offense over the course of their last two games, losses to the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons. Quarterback Josh Allen has faced increasing pressure as his receivers struggled to get separation, which has prompted some insiders to predict the Bills will add more help at the trade deadline.
Las Vegas Raiders receiver Jakobi Meyers has been identified as a top target, and Meyers made it clear this week that he wants to find a new NFL home.
Jakobi Meyers Repeats Trade Request
Meyers had already asked the Raiders for a trade, though said he would continue to do his best no matter what the team decided. The veteran receiver reiterated this week that he still wants to be traded.
“Oh for sure,” Meyers said, via ESPN’s Ryan McFadden, replying to a question about whether his trade request still stands. “But I’m a professional at the end of the day. I’m just trying to play good football.”
Meyers is seen as a good fit for a Bills team that has struggled to get production from its wideouts. Reporter Nick Brinkerhoff of USA Today noted that Philadelphia Eagles receiver A.J. Brown could be the bigger prize, but he’s not likely to move.
That makes Meyers the best one that could be realistic for the Bills to add, Briknerhoff wrote.
“As for the more realistic targets, Meyers headlines the bunch. The Raiders’ receiver requested a trade during the offseason after contract extension talks failed to progress and plays for a team that appears primed to miss the playoffs,” Brinkerhoff wrote.
Meyers would likely be a one-year rental for the Bills, Brinkerhoff added.
“Meyers is set to hit free agency, meaning he is a pure rental from the trade market perspective,” Brinkerhoff wrote. “He has become somewhat of a forgotten man after posting his first 1,000-yard receiving season in 2024, further opening the door for a deal. The seventh-year pro is a good candidate to be on the move as Vegas shifts their focus to the youth in their receiver room.”
Bills Could Address Other Areas
The Bills will likely need some help in other areas, including their secondary. The team has been hit with a number of injuries, including two promising rookie cornerbacks in Maxwell Hairston and Dorian Strong.
The team got some good news this week when they opened the 21-day practice window for Hairston to return from injured reserve, but it remains unclear when he could actually hit the field for the first time since training camp.
The Bills could look to add some veteran help to their secondary, targeting a player like cornerback Rasul Douglas from the Miami Dolphins. Douglas was a regular starter for the Bills last season and could provide some trusted depth until Hairston is fully recovered and up to speed.
Ben Johnson commits first major coaching blunder in Bears' loss to Vikings
Ben Johnson made his head-coaching debut with the Chicago Bears on Monday night and the rookie head coach made his first blunder in a 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
After the Bears cut the deficit to three points late in the fourth quarter, there was just 2:02 left in the game and Chicago had just one timeout left.
At that point, Johnson had multiple options, one of which was the most traditional method in that situation: an onside kick.
But Johnson also could have had his kicker send the ball out of bounds or through the back of the end zone and that would have kept the two-minute warning as a much-needed timeout for the Bears.
Instead, kicker Cairo Santos didn't get the kickoff out of the back of the end zone and that allowed Vikings running back Ty Chandler to return the ball and run the clock to under two minutes, wiping out the two-minute stoppage for Chicago.
The Vikings went on to run the clock down to under 10 seconds before punting the ball away and that wasn't anywhere near enough time for a Bears offense that struggled for most of the night to pull off a miracle.
"The coaching move there had to simply be to kick the ball out of bounds," FOX Sports' Nick Wright wrote on X. "Who cares about the difference between giving it up at the 40 vs 35, you simply can’t risk not getting the 2min warning stoppage. Ben Johnson’s first major game management mistake."
"Welp, Bears just lost because they didn’t onside kick or kick it out of the end zone," Pride of Detroit's Jeremy Reisman wrote.
What makes Johnson's mistake look worse is the fact that Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell had an outstanding game.
Not only was he coaching Chandler to run out of the end zone on the kickoff while the play was happening, he also saw his second-year quarterback settle down big time in the second half en route to doing a complete 180.
It's only one game for Johnson, so it's far too early to hit the panic button, but it was still a tough loss for a Bears team that started off fast with an impressive touchdown drive on the opening series.
Now, Johnson will look ahead to a Week 2 matchup against his old friends, the Detroit Lions.
Pat Maroon’s Return to Tampa Bay: A Strategic Reunion Rooted in Loyalty and Legacy
In the world of professional sports, where trades and contracts often overshadow sentiment, Pat Maroon’s return to the Tampa Bay Lightning stands out as a rare and heartfelt reunion. His decision to come back to the team wasn’t driven solely by statistics or financial incentives—it was rooted in something deeper: a sense of community, connection, and home. “I just think the community and the people that work around us are really, really good people, and I get along with everyone,” Maroon said. “It just made the most sense for me and my family, so I'm really excited to be back.” These words reflect not only his personal values but also the emotional bond he shares with the city and its people.
Pat Maroon, affectionately known as “The Big Rig,” has built a career defined by resilience, grit, and clutch performances. Standing at 6'3" and weighing over 230 pounds, he brings a physical presence to the ice that few can match. But beyond his size and strength, Maroon is a player who thrives in high-pressure moments. His journey to NHL stardom wasn’t easy—drafted 161st overall in 2007, he spent years in the minor leagues before making his mark in the NHL. His perseverance paid off, culminating in an extraordinary achievement: winning three consecutive Stanley Cups, first with his hometown team, the St. Louis Blues in 2019, and then with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
A Reunion That Resonates
Maroon looks forward to giving back to Lightning fans and others who allowed him to build his NHL career. He has never taken that support for granted, and he won’t in his new role, either.
“(Lightning co-owner and chairman) Jeff Vinik has done an amazing job throughout the community and making sure it's community first, and I learned that when I first got to this organization. We pride ourselves on giving back and we pride on having the players going into the community, doing hospital visits, going up to ball hockey, visiting kids camps. That’s a huge thing, and I think I've learned a lot from that,” Maroon said.
“Being back in Tampa, winning two Stanley Cups, the fans mean a lot to me. They've done everything, sold out hundreds of consecutive games. … Now I get the time to chat with some fans and hang out and be part of the community and support the Tampa community. It’s going to be awesome, so I'm really looking forward to that.”
Fans have likely seen Maroon on their televisions already, and they can expect more of that this season with the Lightning. He previously appeared on NHL Network and joined various NHL on TNT broadcasts during the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“It just kind of came organically with doing podcasts and people reaching out and trying to figure out if I wanted to do it, if I’d be good at it,” Maroon said of hockey media.
He admitted the national broadcasts are accompanied by a learning curve, crediting fellow alumni Paul Bissonnette, Henrik Lundqvist, P.K. Subban, Anson Carter and others for leading the way in that category.
“You can't be afraid to make mistakes. You can't be afraid to pronounce a word wrong, pronounce a name wrong. It’s kind of like hockey, kind of like playing the game. You're going to get critiqued no matter what you do and what you say, so you’ve got to be prepared and understand that. That's why those guys are so good, because they're not afraid to make mistakes.”
Maroon has already been involved with the Lightning, joining for some on-ice sessions at summer youth camps and making other public appearances for the team.
He is still adapting to a hockey life which doesn’t include playing in the games. Whatever that looks like, he’s ready, particularly because it will occur in a place he loves as much as Tampa.
“You do this job, and you know when you start it that there's going to be an end to it. So I think that's the hardest part when we retire is navigating the first year out of it, and that's what I'm going to be doing is trying to navigate through my first year,” Maroon said. “It’s going to be really hard watching my boys play and knowing that I can't put my skates on and play anymore, but that's the beauty of it, too, is that we get a second chance to do what we love after hockey, too.”
