Let’s hope the Buffalo Bills come out of their bye week fired up and focused. They kicked off the season looking like real contenders, but things have gone downhill since they ran into actual competition in the Falcons and Patriots. Back-to-back losses can rattle any locker room, and linebacker Shaq Thompson clearly wants to make sure no bad energy creeps into Buffalo’s.

In a recent interview, Thompson shed some light on the kind of players he downright refuses to share space with. “You don’t want no bad character type of guys,” Thompson said.

“No donkeys on your team, who’s gonna bring the team down, bring the culture down, bring the vibes down in the locker room when you lose two or two in a row. I’ve been around a lot of guys who were cancerish. And those are the type of guys you gotta get out of your locker room and get off your team,” the linebacker added. Well, if anyone knows how important a healthy locker room is, it’s Thompson.

Back in 2020, when he was with the Carolina Panthers, things got pretty tense after a two-touchdown loss to Tampa Bay, 31-17. The next day, even the coach admitted the locker room vibe was off.

Cornerback Rasul Douglas said something that stuck with a lot of people: “You know what, coach, it doesn’t feel real close. It’s just because we don’t really know each other, yet. We’ve had these masks on. We’re sitting six feet apart. I play better when I’m playing for somebody.”

That honesty actually helped the Panthers regroup, who next made a three-win streak that time, and Shaq hasn’t forgotten that. He knows what works and what doesn’t when it comes to having a healthy locker room. Keeping things bottled up and sulking doesn’t help anyone; it just drags everyone else down.

And for those who follow the Bills week after week, it doesn’t seem like there’s any real toxicity in their locker room right now. Buffalo’s got enough leaders to keep things from falling apart. But if they want to turn things around fast, they’ve got to get Josh Allen some help.

Josh Allen needs a reliable weapon

Even when the Bills were stacking wins earlier in the season, it was obvious that the receiving corps was thin. The recent losses to Atlanta and New England just confirmed that. With the trade deadline creeping up on November 4th, Sean McDermott and Terry Pegula need to move if they want a genuine shot at the title run.

Keon Coleman hasn’t taken that next step the team hoped for, and while Khalil Shakir is dependable, he’s not a true WR1. Joshua Palmer and Curtis Samuel can contribute, but neither is a game-changer. Shakir’s sitting at 25 catches on 34 targets for two touchdowns, while Coleman’s stats are basically identical.

To put that in context, Garrett Wilson (on the winless Jets) has 36 receptions on 56 targets and four touchdowns. And that’s with Justin Fields under center for an offense that’s managed just 17 points in total over the two games. If Wilson can produce like that, imagine what a top receiver could do catching passes from Josh Allen.

On the other hand, Allen is proving once again why he was last year’s MVP. Through this point in the season, he’s thrown for 1,397 yards, 11 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. Just think about what those numbers could look like if Buffalo added a dependable WR to its arsenal.

The trade market isn’t exactly brimming with elite talent right now, but there are a few names worth keeping an eye on. Chris Olave from the Saints, DeAndre Hopkins from the Ravens, and Jakobi Meyers from the Raiders all come to mind. Realistically, Meyers might be the most attainable option, especially since he’s already put in a trade request after all the chaos in Las Vegas.