Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane joined former Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and former Ram Andrew Whitmore on a March 18 episode of their “Fitz and Whit” podcast.
The trio dug into a number of topics that Beane commented on, and several were eye-opening glimpses into his mentality ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft and regular season.
One was that this Bills team was and is close to making it to the Super Bowl and that they had the players and talent to get it done this past season.
“We’re not getting our doors blown off,” Beane said regarding their AFC Championship loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. “And when we beat them in the regular season, they beat us in the postseason. … As you guys know, every game that’s decided within one score usually comes down to two to three plays in a game. And so you got to be careful not to overreact.”
“I firmly believe from my experience in the league and the teams that I’ve been on that have been to Super Bowls that to win those games, especially in the gauntlet [that] the AFC is, your best players have to play their best,” he noted. “That’s generally what happens, and when you see those teams and even to the Super Bowl, I would say Philadelphia stars rose to the occasion more than Kansas City’s [stars] did that day. They play five more times, it might be totally different, but that day, they did and that’s what we have to do if we’re going to get past the Chiefs.”
He also praised owner Terry Pegula’s hands-on interest in player recruitment and pre-draft evaluation processes.
“Terry loves the process,” the GM said. “He’s got an analytical mind. He’s one of the few owners. He comes to the combine, he sits in all our interviews. He likes to get to know those 45 players that we bring in there for 15 minutes. We watch film with them, and he doesn’t say a word. They don’t even know he’s the owner.”
“Terry will sit in on our April meeting,” he added. “He’ll sit in there. And again, once in a while, he’ll ask a question. He takes a lot of notes on what this scout said, what this coach may have said, and how I see it. He’ll write some questions down that he has.”
Beane is in the midst of one of his most important offseasons regarding the Bills’ long-term success and optimizing QB Josh Allen’s prime years of his career.
During this time period last year, the GM overhauled and retooled the roster and payroll to get younger at key positions. The results exceeded expectations. Buffalo won their division, secured the No. 2 playoff seed, and returned to the AFC Championship game. Allen was awarded the league MVP honors and a contract extension through 2030.
“I understood the impact of getting an extension done and creating some cap space. I’ve had a big contract before and it doesn’t really change how I live and my life but this opens up some space for cap and to signing some free agents.I think we’ve had a pretty good free agent run so far,” the QB said.
What another strong offseason could yield remains to be seen, but after a first wave of extensions and free agency additions, Beane and company are aiming to have just that ahead of the opening of the regular season.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Buffalo Bills’ Brandon Beane on ownership, roster, and getting past Chiefs
Reporting by David Benjamin De Cristofaro, Bills Wire / Bills Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
