The Buffalo Bills are signing free-agent defensive end Bradley Chubb to a three-year, $43.5 million contract. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the deal is worth up to $52.5 million, and includes $29 million guaranteed.
The 29-year-old Chubb spent the past two seasons with the Miami Dolphins as an integral part of their defensive plans. Last season, Chubb made 47 tackles (24 solo), eight tackles for loss, 20 quarterback hits, 8.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery in 17 games.
A two-time Pro Bowler (2020, 2022), Chubb brings a wealth of experience as 6’4”, 268-pound outside linebacker/edge rusher to a 3-4 defensive system. Chubb was drafted fifth overall by the Denver Broncos during the 2018 NFL Draft, and he spent five seasons there before a trade-deadline deal sent him to the Dolphins during the 2022 NFL season.
In seven NFL seasons (not including a lost 2024 season due to ACL injury), Chubb has been a workhorse defender, totaling 303 tackles (181 solo), 53 tackles for loss, 112 quarterback hits, 48 sacks, seven pass defenses, one interception, 15 forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries (all stats per Pro Football Reference). He has just one playoff game on his resume, which came against Buffalo during the 2022 NFL season — a game in which he claimed one sack and one forced fumble.
Now heading to the Bills, Chubb will join a group of defensive ends/edge rushers that notably includes (likely strongside linebacker) Greg Rousseau and (likely weakside linebacker) Michael Hoecht. The addition of Chubb helps offset Hoecht’s Achilles injury, which could sideline him into the regular season.
It remains to be seen how new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard will utilize Chubb and the rest of the team’s edge defenders, but there’s an expected shift to a base 3-4 system that leverages multiple looks and fronts as a pressure-focused scheme.
