Bills News: Buffalo Seeks Value for J.P. Losman

The National Football League draws closer to its offseason, which begins in earnest after the Super Bowl's culmination in early February, with each passing day. For the Buffalo Bills, one of the league's 32 franchises, their time off is going to be defined by how they handle a number of different positions.

One of the key elements of the Bills' offseason will be how they deal with unhappy quarterback J.P. Losman, who requested a trade earlier this month.

Considering where Losman was one short year ago, his fall down the ladder in Buffalo has been both dramatic and somewhat surprising. The 2004 first-round pick burst onto the scene last season, throwing for 3,000-plus yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions in 16 starts for a 7-9 team that demonstrated clear progression from its five-win campaign the year previous. Because of the steps he took in 2006, conventional wisdom said the 26-year-old would improve even more this past season. Unfortunately, however, things didn't go according to plan.

In the end, the athletically gifted, cannon-armed Losman lost his job to third-round rookie Trent Edwards, who ultimately appeared in 10 games for Buffalo and started nine. The Bills finished 7-9 for the second straight season, and here they are again believing that they have found their quarterback of the future. Unlike a year ago, though, that signal-caller isn't Losman; instead, it's the Stanford graduate who took his job.

Because of Losman's poor 2007 campaign—which can be attributed to his own regression, a lack of weapons and a horrific offensive game plan—odds are the ex-Tulane star's days in Buffalo are nearing an end.

With that in mind, one question is begged: How much value is Losman going to have in a trade? Honestly, it's anyone's guess. One thing in Buffalo's favor is that there are so few teams in the NFL with a bona fide starting QB that one might overpay for Losman's talent and potential. Considering every trade is different, it would be useless to speculate what kind of draft pick(s) the Bills might get in return for Losman; however, a fait accompli is that teams like Baltimore, Minnesota, Chicago and Atlanta, among others, will all be looking for quarterbacks in the offseason, and rather than spend a first-round draft pick on one, they might take a flier on a former blue-chip talent who has a 10-21 career starting record but also a good deal of promise.

When the smoke clears on the Losman situation, there is a good chance the Bills will get decent value for him and further stockpile picks (they currently have 10).

Although Losman never lived up to his post-2004 draft hype in Buffalo, the team still has a chance to reap a modest reward at the conclusion of his four-year era with the Bills.

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