Here’s Why The Buffalo Bills Are Trading Taron Johnson

It has, no doubt, been a busy weekend for Taron Johnson. On Friday, it was announced that the Bills would be releasing him. But by the end of the weekend, they decided to change their plan. Now, they're trading him instead.

First the announcement came that they were releasing Johnson

Late Friday afternoon, the annoucement came that the Bills would be releasing Taron Johnson along with Curtis Samuel, Dane Jackson, and Taylor Rapp.

In the case of Johnson, it feels like his release was just a scheme change casualty. With new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard coming in, it was becoming harder to find a role that would fit him. So instead, they made the tough decision to release him.

Then, they decided to trade Johnson

After the announcement of his upcoming release, the Las Vegas Raiders reached out to see if they could acquire Johnson instead of waiting until he became a free agent. The Bills would definitely prefer to get something for him, and because the release couldn't become official until the new league year, he was still a member of the Bills. So instead, the Bills will be trading him.

It's a win/win for both teams because the Raiders are getting a really great player for a low draft pick, and the Bills are getting something for a player that they were going to release without any compensation.

The Bills will still have dead cap left from Taron Johnson

While the Raiders will end up picking up Johnson's salary, the Bills will still be stuck with around $9.5 million in dead cap for him.