Brandon Beane: Bills contacted Panthers about trade for Christian McCaffrey

When a name like Christian McCaffrey is out there, you can’t blame a team for trying. And the Buffalo Bills tried.

On Wednesday, former Carolina Panthers assistant general manager and current Bills general manager Brandon Beane gave reporters a little inside football about trade talks in the NFL. He began by saying that his front office did indeed gauge his old employer’s interest in a potential swap for their now-departed star rusher.

“I know it started with McCaffrey,” Beane said of his team’s search for additions. “Yes, that was the last draft I was there in Carolina. Know him well. When you hear he’s on the block, I wouldn’t be doing my due diligence to not look into that.”

The Panthers, of course, ended up trading McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers two weeks ago—getting themselves a handsome package of draft picks in exchange for the handsome running back. As Beane alluded to, he was still onboard in Carolina when they selected the Stanford standout with the eighth overall pick in 2017—a draft that also netted them wide receiver Curtis Samuel, offensive tackle Taylor Moton and kicker Harrison Butker.

Ultimately, Buffalo settled on Nyheim Hines before yesterday’s deadline hit. He’s no McCaffrey, but Hines is a dynamic dual-threat talent out of the backfield that could help get Beane, Sean McDermott and the rest of Carolina North that Lombardi Trophy.