The two biggest trades so far this preseason happened simultaneously today, as the Bills announced a trade with the Rams and a related trade with the Eagles. So who got the best end of the deal?
To recap, here’s what each team ends up with after the two trades:
Bills get: The Rams’ second-round draft pick, the Eagles’ third-round draft pick, cornerback E.J. Gaines and receiver Jordan Matthews.
Rams get: The Bills’ sixth-round draft pick and receiver Sammy Watkins.
Eagles get: cornerback Ronald Darby.
For the Bills, this move was about acquiring draft picks for the future: The new regime has already decided to move on from Watkins, the prize pick of the old regime. So they decided to move on from Watkins a year early and get a second-round draft pick. They also picked up a third-round draft pick for Darby.
For the Rams, this was all about Watkins: They want to give young quarterback Jared Goff another weapon, and now they’ve done so.
And for the Eagles, this was about making the defense better right away: Darby should help immediately.
Watkins is heading into the final year of his rookie contract and is cheap for the Rams, at a salary of just $690,000 this year. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent next year unless the Rams slap the franchise tag on him. Watkins has 153 catches for 2,459 and 17 touchdowns in three seasons.
Matthews is also heading into the final year of his rookie contract and is a little more expensive, with a salary of $1.1 million. Matthews has 225 catches for 2,673 and 19 touchdowns in three seasons.
Gaines is heading into the final year of his rookie contract as well, with a salary of $1.8 million. He has started 25 games for the Rams but missed the entire 2015 season.
Darby has two more years left on his rookie contract, with salaries of $800,000 this year and $1 million next year. Darby has started 29 games in two years with the Bills.
So which team did the best? Tell us what you think.