Bills Trading For D.J. Moore Could Actually Help Patriots

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The New England Patriots won the AFC East last season, but the Buffalo Bills are making moves to make sure that does not happen again.

The Bills reportedly made a trade with the Chicago Bears on Thursday to acquire D.J. Moore. Moore slots in as the Bills' new No. 1 wide receiver. It's never good to see a division rival get better, especially one day after news of the Patriots releasing their leading receiver from last season, Stefon Diggs, dropped. However, the Bills' trade may actually help the Patriots.

After news of the Patriots' releasing Diggs dropped, it became clear they were going to be involved in the wide receiver market, just like the Bills. Alex Pierce and A.J. Brown are the two big names to watch on that front, and by trading for Moore, the Bills may have taken themselves out of the market for those two.

"The Bills had sniffed around on AJ Brown and Alec Pierce, so they were actively looking for veteran receiver help," wrote NFL insider Albert Breer on X on Thursday. "They wind up with DJ Moore, who'll be reunited with Joe Brady, his offensive coordinator in Carolina in 2020 and 2021."

Brown has continuously been linked to the Patriots in trade rumors and figures to draw plenty of interest. Pierce is arguably the best wide receiver in this free agent class, and many teams, including the Bills, were expected to be interested. The Patriots reportedly have interest in both players, and now there is seemingly one less team they are competing with.

After giving up a second-round pick to land Moore, the Bills are very unlikely to trade for Brown. Taking on Moore's contract likely means they will not pay Pierce. The less competition there is in those markets, the better it is for the Patriots. Now that Diggs is gone, wide receiver has jumped up the list of Patriots priorities.