Although the Bills finished with a winning record for the first time in nearly a decade, the organization might really be in trouble now that quarterback Kyle Orton has retired.
Let's face it, Orton isn't a top-10 quarterback. He might not even be in the top half of signal-callers in the game. But this season, he helped save Buffalo's season, leading the team to a 9-7 mark while throwing for 3,018 yards, 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
More importantly, he gave the Bills a much better option than 2013 first-round pick EJ Manuel, who has not figured out how to play well enough in the NFL in order to keep his starting job.
Orton, you'll recall, retired after last season, when he was still under contract with the Cowboys, so this latest move isn't a complete surprise.
“I just have been going at it for 10 years and it’s just a family decision and I’ve decided to get home and be a dad and call it a day," Orton said in a statement released by the team.
Fair enough. Can't blame a guy for that.
But you also have to ask where this leaves the Bills moving forward.
There was speculation entering Black Monday that coach Doug Marrone and general manager Doug Whaley might be in danger of losing their jobs because the new ownership group might want to bring in its own hires.
But Marrone's success this season makes it tougher for new owner Terry Pegula to sweep him away, simply because Marrone managed to get nine wins out of this team. Quite simply, Marrone earned more time.
Yet, the Bills have decisions to make this offseason. Do they want to give Manuel another chance to see if he can become the franchise quarterback the team expected him to be when it drafted him No. 16 overall? Or does Buffalo try to land a free agent quarterback (this year's crop, by the way, is expected to be rather poor)?
It'll be tough to find one in the draft, especially since the team traded away its 2015 first-round pick in order to move up in 2014 to select receiver Sammy Watkins.
So, what's the next step?
More importantly, what are these guys supposed to do now?