With the first week of free agency in the books, the Buffalo Bills made a few signings that could help the team improve for next season. One of the most intriguing signings was picking up former Miami Dolphins edge rusher Bradley Chubb.
Where have we heard of general manager and president of football operations Brandon Beane making signings like these before? Probably because he has, and they haven't worked out that well in terms of production on the field and in the team's salary cap situation.
Brandon Beane hasn't learned from his past mistakes
The Bills signed Bradley Chubb, the soon-to-be 30-year-old pass rusher, to a 3-year, $43 millon deal last week, and fans were initially excited about the move. Beane, of course, was excited because he knew what he was getting into, given his past track record.
But most Bills fans have seen this play out year after year.
Beane is very particular in what he wants when signing a free agent pass rusher. He first targets players who have historically delivered standout performances against the Bills in prior seasons, i.e., Von Miller, Joey Bosa, and now Chubb. Secondly, he seems to prefer older pass rushers (also those three guys).
Unfortunately, the signings that looked great at the time turned out to be failures, costing the Bills defensively in the playoffs and on the salary cap. But Beane chose to double down on this trend by signing Chubb this year.
In the Miller case, his deal was worth $120 million over six years, which meant he would have been pushing 39 when his contract expired. Sadly, he only played for three years and was released before the start of the 2025 free agency period. He played in only 36 of 51 games and started in only 11.
As for Bosa, he only signed a 1-year deal, and right now, he's still 31, compared to Miller, who was almost 34 when he was gone. While he had five sacks in the year and stayed mostly durable all season, his overall production still fell short and was nowhere near the excellence he showed during his prime years with the LA Chargers.
How signed players performed before they came to Buffalo
Before Miller came to play in Buffalo in his recent game against the Bills, he had a quarterback hit, two tackles for a loss, and a sack, while Bosa hit a home run. He tallied five quarterback hits, sacked Josh Allen three times, had nine tackles, and six TFL's.
Now it looks like all these free-agent rituals are coming back to haunt the Bills.
Does anything really seem different?
As Chubb turns 30 years old when the 2026 season starts, he will have to make sure he stays on the field all year long, the minute he puts that Bills uniform on. Last season, he had two sacks, five QB hits, and a TFL when playing against the Bills. Regarding having many injury concerns in every part of his career, he received a multi-year contract, even after enduring three torn ACLs throughout his football career.
Can Chubb stay healthy?
Everyone knows that, when healthy, Chubb is excellent at what he does. The issue is that we don't always see that consistently. Last year was the first season he completed since his rookie season. He has shown he has managed only eight sacks in two of his seasons. He managed it in his rookie season and again in 2023 before tearing his ACL in Week 17 and losing out on the 2024 season.
The signing of Chubb was a more cost-effective move because Josh Allen's contract was too expensive before his restructure to go give up two first-round picks for a Maxx Crosby or paying an even older Trey Hendrickson when he only played seven games and was put on IR for having season-ending hip surgery.
The answer is clear. Allen is not to blame for Beane's poor spending on veteran pass rushers, which makes the Bills fall deep into salary cap issues year after year.