After back-to-back losses, the Buffalo Bills (4-2) are eager to rebound on the road against a hot Carolina Panthers team in Week 8. Sean McDermott, 8-0 Coming off the bye, will look for a strong response to guide roster decisions for the stretch run. With the Nov. 4 trade deadline looming, the Bills face key choices on positions to reinforce within a tight budget. Their trade option might be bad for quarterback Lamar Jackson and the team.

There’s a roster or trade shakeup that could work, one that includes wide receiver Rashod Bateman, whose skill set could be beneficial for a franchise such as the Buffalo Bills.

According to Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic, Josh Allen and the Bills might be the fortunate beneficiaries of the Baltimore Ravens‘ wide receiver. However, it’s not necessary, but with the Ravens on the brink of falling to 1-7 if things don’t turn around in the next two games, it’s at least within the realm of possibility. Buscaglia feels, “As far as the fit and the contract, it’s a very good one from a Bills perspective.” He continued, “Bateman is a talented route runner who has more of a ceiling than what he’s been able to access in a mostly run-heavy Baltimore offense. He would fit right in at Z receiver for the Bills.”

Raven’s wide receiver Bateman is under contract until 2029 and has most of his guaranteed money after 2026. His 2025 cap hit is low, and because of that, he’s a great pick for a franchise that is looking to tick its remaining boxes. Bateman can surely be a Z receiver for Josh Allen.

Bateman’s 2025 campaign has not been smooth after his breakout 2024 campaign, in which he accumulated 756 yards and nine touchdowns. He has received just 11 of them, for 120 yards and a touchdown in six games this season. Part of the key to containing numbers has been the injury to Lamar Jackson, affecting the passing consistency out of the offense, and the arrival of DeAndre Hopkins, whose presence has made Bateman’s use even less attractive.

For the Bills’ receivers, their receiving corps has not been anywhere near Allen’s playmaking ability. Keon Coleman had inconsistent performances, Khalil Shakir is solid, but he’s not someone who is No.1 in his business, and backup receivers Joshua Palmer and Curtis Samuel are useful in their positions only. Therefore, Bateman can provide that vertical element and route accuracy that Allen is obviously skilled at, and provide an injection of some life into the Bills’ offense.

While Baltimore might not trade Bateman currently, it’s dealing with another issue. Lamar Jackson issue.

 Jackson’s injury update

Adding to Baltimore’s frustration, the NFL is considering disciplining the team over how it handled the practice schedule of Lamar Jackson, which led to him being scratched on Sunday afternoon for the game with the Chicago Bears due to a right hamstring injury.

The league does have the authority, technically, to discipline the team since the Ravens initially listed Jackson as a full-practice participant on Friday but then changed to limited the following day. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said that “the league reviews any matter involving a change to a player’s status.”

In a statement released Saturday, the Ravens wrote: “Lamar Jackson was present for and participated fully in our entire Friday practice. … Upon further evaluation today and after conferring with the league office, because Lamar didn’t take any starter reps in practice, we updated our report to reflect his practice participation.”

The NFL’s injury report policy explains that a player who takes part in individual drills but skips regular repetitions during team practice for medical reasons and is placed on the scout team should be listed as having “limited participation.” Even if the player is heavily involved with the scout team, their designation remains “limited participation” if their usual reps would have been with the starters but for the injury.

Jackson’s tag was changed to include that. Tyler Huntley will come in against Chicago, with Cooper Rush the alternative in wait, as Jackson returns for Thursday night’s game in Miami.

The situation as it is today remains a 1-5 record, undependable play by bench players, and NFL skepticism over Jackson’s injury report, hovering on the brink of yet more roster moves and Jackson’s role in future considerations.

The Week 8 battle with the Bears and the current NFL investigation of Jackson’s practice status will tell us what comes next.