Up to this point, the Buffalo Bills’ biggest free agent splash signing has been bringing edge rusher Bradley Chubb from the Miami Dolphins. The Bills signed Chubb to a three-year deal as part of the revamp of the defense that the Bills are going under with Jim Leonhard.
Prior to coming to Buffalo, Chubb has been with the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins. Throughout his career, he has racked up 48 sacks and 303 total tackles. There’s no denying that Chubb has a bit of an injury history, but he has been very productive when he is on the field.
In 2023, Chubb had 11 sacks with the Dolphins but would then miss the 2024 season due to a torn ACL. How did he respond to that? By getting 8.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. His 8.5 sacks would have led the Bills last season.
While Chubb has lots of valuable experience and has the chance to thrive, the Bills are also taking on a risk to where this could be another veteran free agency bust that the Bills have had to deal with both Von Miller and Joey Bosa. Matt Verderame from Sports Illustrated recently listed Chubb as a “likely bust” for the Bills, which would be a heartbreaker for Bills fans.
"Turning 30 years old in June, Chubb had 8.5 sacks and 20 quarterback hits for the Dolphins last season. The year before that, he missed the season after tearing his ACL. That’s a microcosm of his star-crossed career, as Chubb has been inactive for 42 games across his eight years in the league. " said Verderame.
Bradley Chubb listed as likely bust for Bills for 2026
It’s hard to argue the point about the injury concern. Missing that many games throughout a career is eye-popping and the Bills are certainly taking on some risk for sure.
At the same time, the Bills are in a championship window as long as Josh Allen is in his prime and getting any kind of significant help is something that they will always be looking to do. Chubb has had a good amount of success throughout his career, it’s mainly just been the injuries that have some people concerned.
Chubb coming into Leonhard’s defensive scheme at a 3-4 will be a near-perfect pairing. Not only is Chubb a solid pass rusher, but he is phenomenal at stopping the run. Buffalo’s run-defense was horrendous last season and now Chubb should help improve that.
Any player that gets signed to a team is a risk in some aspect. Obviously, the Bills paying Chubb a good-sized contract makes the move more risky, but it will also pay off greatly if he can stay healthy.