The Buffalo Bills haven’t been able to add too many offensive pieces this offseason, only signing wide receiver Joshua Palmer in a rather pedestrian move.
Much of that is due to the fact that the Bills don’t have a whole lot of financial flexibility, which severely limits what they can do in free agency.
The problem is that Buffalo definitely needs to acquire some more weapons for Josh Allen, who really doesn’t have a No. 1 receiver in his midst right now. Perhaps Keon Coleman could become that, but at the moment, Allen essentially has a bunch of decent options but no genuinely elite ones.
Given the Bills’ salary cap situation, they’ll probably be unable to really make any other significant moves, so they may be forced to explore some reclamation projects.
Brandon Ray of Buffalo Down has offered a rather intriguing suggestion for them in that regard: running back Nick Chubb. Here’s the catch, though: Ray has Buffalo trading James Cook in the process.
“This might cause a heavy conversation considering what the Buffalo Bills’ running back room looks like,” Ray wrote. “However, if the Bills are seriously considering not extending James Cook, who has been demanding $15 million per year, then it would make a lot of sense for the Bills to potentially trade Cook and sign a veteran running back who knows how to play in the cold, much like Nick Chubb.”
Chubb made four straight Pro Bowls with the Cleveland Browns between 2019 and 2022, so he is certainly a big name. However, injuries have derailed the 29-year-old over the last couple of seasons, and now, he barely even resembles his old self.
To be perfectly honest, the Bills would have to be crazy to consider this. Cook was brilliant this past season, racking up 1,009 yards and 16 touchdowns en route to his second straight Pro Bowl appearance. Yes, he has just one year remaining on his deal and would be costly, but Buffalo is trying to win a Super Bowl here.
And even if the Bills do want to trade Cook, Chubb would definitely not be the best replacement they could find. They would be better served finding an answer in the NFL Draft and then letting that incoming rookie share the backfield with Ray Davis and Ty Johnson.
There was a time when Chubb would have represented an electrifying pickup for Buffalo, but those days are long gone.
