Two teams ultimately were in the running for veteran receiver Jeremy Maclin. The Bills reportedly weren’t one of them.
Josina Anderson of ESPN.com reports that Maclin’s decision came down to the Ravens and the Eagles. Yes, the Eagles.
The team that selected Maclin in the first round of the 2009 draft. The team that supposedly wasn’t interested in adding Maclin “at this time.”
Time quickly changed. Or maybe the Eagles opted for the same kind of discretion that they applied when, for example, recruiting cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha in 2011.
It’s unclear why the Bills didn’t become finalists for Maclin. Regardless, the public recruitment of Maclin by key Bills players like running back LeSean McCoy and quarterback Tyrod Taylor creates the impression that the Bills “lost” the chase for Maclin, and it invites speculation as to whether McCoy, Taylor, or other Bills will resent the team’s decision not to do whatever it had to do to get him -- especially if Maclin performs at a high level in Baltimore.