![\"Bills](\"https:\/\/news2.watchtowatch.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2191520719.jpg\")
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The Buffalo Bills head into Sunday\u2019s Week 11 matchup against the NFC South-leading\u00a0Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u00a0having lost\u00a0three of their last five games, and just struggling to hang on to a chance at their sixth straight AFC East title. Despite being led by reigning\u00a0NFL\u00a0MVP quarterback Josh Allen, much of the blame for the Bills\u2019 struggles since winning their first four games has fallen on their passing attack \u2014 or lack of an effective one.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just fans and pundits complaining about the Buffalo passing game. The team\u2019s own coach of nine years,\u00a0Sean McDermott publicly points\u00a0the finger in the same direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an important part of our offense,\u201d McDermott said followings team\u2019s humiliating 30-13 loss to the 3-7 Miami Dolphins last week, as\u00a0quoted by\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a great quarterback and you want to be able to move the ball two dimensionally. We should be able to move the ball with Josh through the air,\u201d McDermott continued. \u201cBut it can\u2019t just be one phase of your offense. It starts up front with the line of scrimmage. (Allen) made some amazing plays, which he does. We got to move the chains. We\u2019re not holding the ball long enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
With those issues in mind, McDermott and the Bills took a drastic step in an attempt to inject some new energy into the Bills\u2019 aerial attack, only about 24 hours before they were set to kick off at Highmark Stadium against the visiting 6-3 Bucs.<\/p>\n
First,\u00a0at least according to one report\u00a0which has not been denied by the team, they benched 2024 second-round draft pick Keon Coleman, potentially placing the second-year wide receiver on the inactive list, even though the 22-year-old former Florida State Seminole is fully healthy.<\/p>\n
At the same time, apparently to take Coleman\u2019s place in the Bills\u2019 offensive lineup,\u00a0the team signed former\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs receiver Mecole Hardman to the 53-man roster.<\/p>\n
Hardman was a 2019 second-round draft pick for the Chiefs out of Georgia, and in his rookie year caught 26 passes for 538 yards and six touchdowns as the Chiefs advanced to what was then\u00a0their first Super Bowl since 1969.<\/p>\n
Hardman, 27, had been out of a job since his release from the\u00a0Green Bay Packers\u00a0practice squad on September 23. The Bills signed him to their own practice squad on Monday, then signed him again, to the active roster this time, on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis speed and versatility make him both a vertical threat and a weapon to use on special teams, both areas the Bills need help in,\u201d wrote\u00a0SB Nation<\/em> Bills analyst Sara Larson on Saturday. \u201cThe Bills have cycled through returners for much of the season, with Brandon Codrington frequently being downgraded to the inactive list as a healthy scratch.\u201d<\/p>\n In a corresponding move, the\u00a0Bills released Codrington on Saturday\u00a0as well. Because the NFL trade deadline is now history, NFL rules require that Codrington will be placed on waivers before he is fully cut from the team.<\/p>\n The Bills game against Tampa Bay will be televised to most of the country by CBS in the 1 p.m. Eastern time slot. Only the Baltimore and Cleveland markets will not receive the game.<\/p>\n There\u2019s still plenty of time in the 2025 regular season. But with Week 5 looming, the\u00a0NFL\u00a0trade deadline is actually quickly approaching, which means the teams most likely to be buyers is coming into focus.<\/p>\n On Thursday, CBS Sports\u2019 Cody Benjamin named the\u00a0Seattle Seahawks\u00a0one of his five teams most likely to be buyers at the NFL trade deadline.<\/p>\n \u201cWith\u00a0Sam Darnold\u00a0thriving as the new gunslinger\u00a0and Mike Macdonald still directing a physical defense, they might be the clear favorites to survive a crowded NFC West race,\u201d\u00a0wrote Benjamin.<\/p>\n The CBS Sports analyst didn\u2019t mention any specific potential\u00a0Seahawks\u00a0trade targets. But presumably, Seattle will seek offensive upgrades.<\/p>\n Entering Week 5,\u00a0the Seahawks are ranked\u00a0second in points allowed and sixth in rushing yards yielded.<\/p>\n Seattle is just 18th in passing yards allowed, but the team should improve in that area once all of its defensive backs return. Defensive backs\u00a0Devon Witherspoon,\u00a0Julian Love\u00a0and\u00a0Nick Emmanwori\u00a0have all missed at least one of the first four games this season.<\/p>\n Although Seattle\u2019s pass defense is in the bottom half of the league, the unit has performed better in other categories. Most notably, the\u00a0Seahawks\u00a0are seventh in net yards allowed per attempt. That\u2019s because they are sixth in the\u00a0NFL\u00a0with 12 sacks in four weeks.<\/p>\n With all that in mind, the offense probably has greater needs. The\u00a0Seahawks\u00a0are 13th in passing and 18th in rushing entering Week 5.<\/p>\n It\u2019s never a bad idea for\u00a0NFL\u00a0teams to add another pass-catching weapon.\u00a0Jaxon Smith-Njigba\u00a0leads the Seahawks with 26 catches and 402 receiving yards. But only one other player has more than 82 receiving yards for Seattle this season.<\/p>\n It\u2019s often difficult to integrate an offensive lineman into an\u00a0NFL\u00a0lineup midseason. But the\u00a0Seahawks\u00a0could show interest in offensive line depth.<\/p>\n Seattle sits in the middle of the pack in\u00a0sack percentage allowed after four games.<\/p>\n NFL Network\u2019s Ian Rapoport reported\u00a0Sunday other NFL teams could be \u201cmonitoring\u201d\u00a0Riq Woolen\u00a0on the NFL trade market.<\/p>\n Some pundits, such as The Tacoma News Tribune\u2019s Gregg Bell,\u00a0found the report\u00a0to have odd wording. It\u2019s possible Rapoport\u2019s report was actually from a source in the\u00a0Seahawks\u00a0organization who is trying to increase interest in the cornerback.<\/p>\n But shopping Woolen for a different piece could make sense for the\u00a0Seahawks. As long as the team\u2019s cornerbacks are healthy, Seattle doesn\u2019t have a lot of use for the fourth-year cornerback.<\/p>\n Perhaps a team on the trade market is interested in the cornerback as a rental player. Woolen is on an expiring contract and will become a free agent next spring.<\/p>\n However, there could be complications for the\u00a0Seahawks\u00a0if they try to trade Woolen. More than likely, only contender will show interest in the cornerback because he\u2019s a rental. Contenders typically want to give up draft picks, not players, in\u00a0NFL\u00a0trade deadline moves.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Seahawks, though, probably don\u2019t want a draft pick at the deadline because they are also a contender.<\/p>\n So, to find a perfect trade partner for Woolen, the\u00a0Seahawks\u00a0will have to seek a team who needs a cornerback and has a different player Seattle could use. That other team will also have to be willing to give up that player the\u00a0Seahawks want.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Buffalo Bills head into Sunday\u2019s Week 11 matchup against the NFC South-leading\u00a0Tampa Bay Buccaneers\u00a0having lost\u00a0three of their last five games, and just struggling to hang on to a chance at their…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t