If the Bills want to make a trade before the 2025 NFL Draft, PFF believes this veteran linebacker would fit the role of trade bait.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane has not picked up the phone to execute any trades, but there is one that PFF believes would benefit the team.
PFF identified a trade candidate from each team that would be the most valuable asset to trade. For the Buffalo Bills, linebacker Matt Milano was named as the top candidate.
Dec 1, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano (58). | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
“The Bills have been busy locking down several key contributors who were set to hit the market, including Greg Rousseau and Khalil Shakir. James Cook and Christian Benford are still in limb, but both will seemingly be extended. Milano could be more uncertain.”
“Milano was one of the NFL’s standout linebackers during the 2022 season, recording a 77.1 PFF overall grade with an 83.2 PFF coverage mark. But injuries have taken a toll over the past two years, as Milano has played only 544 total snaps since 2023. After returning last season, he netted only a 53.3 PFF overall grade. Now 30, Milano hasn’t proven to be a reliable contributor and could be offered up on the market.”
Dec 9, 2018; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills outside linebacker Matt Milano (58). | Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
The injury bug has hit Milano hard over the last two seasons. In 2023 he missed 12 regular season games and the entire postseason with a fractured leg. In 2024, he didn’t even make it out of the preseason before a torn biceps sidelined him, returning for the last four games of the regular season.
Since being drafted by the Bills in the 5th round (163rd overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft, Milano has exceeded expectations. He made the Pro Bowl and was named to the First-Team All-Pro in 2022 after 99 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 11 pass deflections, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and one touchdown in 15 games., He only missed 13 games in his first six seasons, but has since missed 25 games
Bills linebackers Dorian Williams around Terrell Bernard. | Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK
Buffalo finds solace in three of its young linebackers, with Dorian Williams and Terrel Bernard leading the team in tackles last year. Bernard’s performance landed him a four-year contract extension earlier in the month.
Williams is 23 years old, and Bernard will be 26 when the new season starts. The team also has Baylon Spector step up in a supporting role, as he, too, is young at 26.
The Bills also recently reworked Milano’s contract, reducing his pay for 2025 in exchange for
removing the 2026 season from his contract, making him a free agent after this year.
Trading away Milano, who will be 31 years old before the start of the 2025 season, could help lower the age of the linebacker room and allow the up and coming players to step in. The Bills could likely secure a valuable mid-round draft pick for him. This may be an option for Beane before entering the war room for the April 24-26, 2025 NFL draft.
