These are three free agent running backs that the Buffalo Bills could sign to replace J.D. McKissic
On Tuesday, the Buffalo Bills thought they had their answer at running back after reportedly agreeing to a two-year deal with J.D. McKissic. However, that changed on Wednesday before deals could be made official and McKissic decided to return to Washington on the same deal.
Now, that McKissic is not an option the need still remains to find a running back that brings his skill set. The fact that they did initially try to sign McKissic points to the fact that they want to find a running back to compliment Devin Singletary instead of one that would share the workload on the ground in a running back by committee.
Fortunately, there are a number of players who are free agents that could bring a similar skill set that McKissic would have brought and could be good fits in this offense.
Buffalo Bills Free Agent Target: Tarik Cohen
The first player is one that wasn’t expected to be available but that changed after the Chicago Bears released him last week with an injury designation. Tarik Cohen has not played a regular season game since Week 3 of the 2020 season when he suffered a torn ACL.
However, when healthy Cohen is dynamic and one of the best pass-catching running backs in the league. In his first three seasons in the league, he averaged 68 receptions, 511 receiving yards and had a total of eight receiving touchdowns during that stretch.
The biggest question with Cohen is his health and where he is in his recovery with the ACL tear from 2020. He was not able to play at all last year and Bears’ GM Ryan Poles would not discuss Cohen’s health at the NFL Combine, according to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin:
"“I don’t really want to get into the medical piece of individual players, but we’ll just take it a day at a time to figure out where he’s at for us,” Poles said."
If the Buffalo Bills are able to meet with Cohen and feel confident in his chances of returning to full strength this season, this is a move that makes a great deal of sense for what this offense needs.
Buffalo Bills Free Agent Target: Giovani Bernard
Last year, Giovani Bernard joined the Tampa Bay Bucs after eight seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, and with both teams, he has shown to be a reliable pass-catcher out of the backfield. For his career, Bernard has a catch rate of over 75% with 365 receptions and 2,990 receiving yards.
It also could be an added bonus to add a veteran to the running back position with Singletary and Zack Moss both early in their careers.
The biggest question for Bernard is how much he might have left and if he can play at the level he did with the Bengals. This past season with the Bucs, Bernard was lost in a crowded backfield and had only 23 receptions and 29 targets in 12 games.
If the front office believes this decrease in production was just due to the number of running backs on the roster and not due to him losing a step, Bernard could be a smart move to pair with Singletary.
Buffalo Bills Free Agent Target: Jalen Richard
The final running back is Jalen Richard, who has spent the first six years in the NFL with the Raiders after he signed with them as an undrafted free agent in 2016. He has played in 87 career games with 191 career receptions, 1,590 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns.
He is similar to Bernard in that he is a reliable pass-catcher with a catch rate of over 80% and had a career year in 2018 when he had 63 receptions on 80 targets for 607 receiving yards. However, his opportunities have decreased the past few years with Josh Jacobs in the backfield along with the Raiders signing Kenyan Drake last year.
Among the three running backs listed, Richard could make the most sense as he isn’t coming off a serious injury like Cohen is and at 28 years old is younger than Bernard. While he hasn’t had the same success as McKissic recently, he brings a similar skill set that could address the need within the offense.