‘We Have A Window Of About Three Years’

Thurman Thomas says the Buffalo Bills’ window for contention is open for at least another three years. (Photo by Simon Marper/PA Images via Getty Images)

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Thurman Thomas believes the Buffalo Bills have a wide open window of contending.

Although the Bills have up short in the Josh Allen era when it comes to beating the Kansas City Chiefs — they’re 0-4 all time against them in the playoffs — Buffalo is coming off of a 13-4 season and Allen’s first MVP year. When factoring in the youth of the rest of the offense of key players such as James Cook, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid, it’s not hard to see why Thomas feels that way.

None of the Bills’ core four position players are any older than the age of 26.

“I think our window has not closed yet,” says Thomas in a one-on-one interview. “I think we still have a window of about three years, I really do and it’s all because of Josh, because I think Brandon Beane has done something remarkable. Sure, a GM is going to miss on some picks that they probably should have taken or cut or waived or whatever. The culture that he has brought to this football team, the type of players that he has brought to this football team over the years, I think that has made a wonderful adjustment in the organization and with the players.”

Buffalo has clinched six straight playoff berths and five straight AFC East titles. However, their Achilles heel has been the Chiefs. They’ve lost three playoff games to Kansas City by one possession, including their 32-29 loss to the Chiefs this past season.

However, it’s clear they’re one play away from besting the Chiefs.

Thomas says the current version of the Bills are like a family. That makes the Hall of Fame running back have confidence that they’re not going away any time soon.

“By bringing everybody quickly together and being a family,” says Thomas. “This team is a family, which I look at like, that’s how our family was back with Jim (Kelly), Bruce (Smith) and Andre (Reed). We were like nothing was going to separate us. That’s the way this team is. There are players out there that you can draft, or you can look at another team to go get and I think Brandon Beane will continue to do that for the next three years.”

The 1991 NFL MVP says there’s only one other AFC team outside of the Bills that are on the Chiefs’ tier and that’s the Baltimore Ravens. He says those are the two teams that will “eventually dethrone” the Chiefs.

“I will say Baltimore,” says Thomas when asked what other AFC team is on the Chiefs’ tier. “I think Baltimore is still that team that everybody might be looking for that could be thrown to the Kansas City Chiefs. But Buffalo and Baltimore, I don’t know if anybody else is capable of dethroning Kansas City. That’s just my opinion. I see the two teams that are there, Buffalo and Baltimore, and I think those are the teams that you know will eventually dethrone the Chiefs.”

Thurman Thomas Helps Construct New Highmark Stadium Opening In 2026

While the Bills will play this season at Highmark Stadium, they’ll be moving to the new Highmark Stadium in 2026. Thomas, who played his entire Bills career in the current stadium (it opened in 1973), is helping construct the new one with his company 34 Group, a commercial construction company. He’s also honoring skilled tradespeople through his workwear brand, Carhartt.

“This is the biggest job that we’ve ever been on,” says Thomas. “This is the biggest job that Buffalo has ever been on, also. You have a $2 billion project that really is on my part, for my company, is to stress the trades that we have, because it’s a big job at task and we don’t get all the — the trades are so important — all of them don’t really have to come from Buffalo. We’re not going to find 1400 workers here to work on a stadium here in Buffalo. We have to source things out in Rochester, Syracuse and other places.”

Thomas, who is still a resident in Buffalo to this day nearly 25 years after his retirement, says it’s a good way for him to continue to “help” people in the local area.

“It’s an opportunity to me to really get back in the community and do the things that I love to do,” says Thomas. “Which is to help people, and having a construction job, having a construction company that goes along with me, getting back out there into the community, shaking hands and telling people what am I doing, sharing my stories and what am I doing with my company and what we are doing for the community.”

The Bills great says that although he’s not out there on a day-to-day basis, he tries to get out there at least twice a week to talk to the laborers and the project managers to see how the progress is going.

Thomas says Carhartt’s $300,000 investment in Buffalo that helps young people pursue a career in skilled trades is to get more of the younger generation in the field.

“Sometimes you go into some of these meetings and everybody’s over 50, so we’re trying to get the community to be involved in these trades,” says Thomas. You can walk in and be like, they’re 25 now. It’s getting a little bit younger, and we’re trying to have the younger kids these days look for an opportunity in trades like this, because everybody can’t go to college, and everybody don’t want to go to college.

“It’s such a great opportunity,” Thomas continues to say. “Just imagine if you’re working, you’re an electrician, and you have three blocks. Three blocks is a lot to be working on. That’s all we’re trying to do, just trying to get the word out. This is a wonderful working place to be in the construction area and the skilled trades.”