The stakes are such for the Buffalo Bills in 2026 that the idea of giving 2nd chances to disappointing wide receivers should be, we all hope, entirely out the window at this point.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox believes the Bills should make sure that point gets across by putting wide receiver Josh Palmer on the trade block.
The Bills drastically overvalued Palmer in free agency before the 2025 season, signing him to a 3-year, $30 million contract. Palmer responded with the worst season of his career — 33 receptions for 304 yards and no touchdowns while missing 5 games due to injuries.
“While it’s worth noting that (Palmer) was limited by ankle and knee injuries, his production left plenty to be desired,” Knox wrote on August 10. “While Buffalo couldn’t reasonably expect a big return for Palmer in a trade, it could get something from a receiver-needy team to go with some valuable cap savings. The Bills have just over $10 million in cap space, and they could save $10.2 million in cap room by trading Palmer.”
In this scenario, getting back a 5th-round pick for Palmer might be a reasonable expectation.
Josh Palmer Rare Canadian to Make NFL Roster
Palmer, 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, is the rare Canadian to make an NFL roster. He starred in high school in Ontario before transferring to high school football powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for his final 2 seasons.
Palmer was a 3-star recruit and landed at Tennessee, where he seemed on the verge of stardom until his senior season got shortened to 9 games in 2020 because of the pandemic.
In 4 seasons, Palmer never had more than 500 receiving yards in a single year, but was still drafted in the 3rd round (No. 77 overall) by the Los Angeles Chargers.
NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein had Palmer projected as a 4th-round pick.
“While he was hurt by inconsistent quarterbacking during his time at Tennessee, the production totals are still disappointing,” Zierlein wrote in 2020. “However, the more tape you watch of Palmer, the more you like him. He has size, clearly works on refining his route-running and has a good understanding of how to help himself with contested catches. While he doesn’t appear to have great long speed, he did beat future NFL cornerbacks at Georgia (DJ Daniel) and Alabama (Patrick Surtain Jr.) down the field for scores. He’s an instinctive pass catcher on all three levels with above-average ball skills, but beating press and finding separation will be his toughest challenges in the NFL.”
Josh Palmer Consistently Produced With Chargers
Palmer showed he could be a reliable WR2 over his 1st 4 seasons playing behind Chargers star Keenan Allen, including career highs of 72 receptions for 769 yards in 2022.
Over 4 seasons, Palmer averaged 51 receptions for 571 yards and scored 10 total touchdowns. Those are respectable numbers for a WR3 — more so for Palmer when we factor in that he missed 9 games due to injuries over 2023 and 2024.
If you are watching for 1 thing that might trigger a Palmer trade, pay close attention to how Bell and 3rd-year wide receiver Keon Coleman perform in preseason games. If they make plays and look sharp, Palmer is more likely out the door. If either of those 2 struggle, the Bills almost certainly keep Palmer on the roster and bite the bullet with his exorbitant salary.
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