The Buffalo Bills are not easing into this offseason. They seem to be going all in. The Bills locked up outside linebacker Bradley Chubb on a three-year, $43.5 million deal, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Chubb is coming off a strong 2025 campaign with the Miami Dolphins. 8.5 sacks, 47 tackles, 20 quarterback hits, and two forced fumbles across all 17 starts, finishing tied for 20th in sacks league-wide. Since being drafted fifth overall in 2017, he has racked up 48 career sacks, 112 QB hits, 53 tackles for loss, and 15 forced fumbles.
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Buffalo also pulled off a trade with the Chicago Bears, landing wide receiver DJ Moore in exchange for their 2026 second-round pick (No. 60), with the Bears sending back a 2026 fifth-rounder (No. 165). Two major additions are a clear signal that the Bills believe Josh Allen‘s Super Bowl window is right now.
Former Miami Dolphins linebacker Bradley Chubb, now with the Buffalo BillsRich Storry-Imagn Images
(Rich Storry-Imagn Images)
Not everyone sees it that way, though. Fox Sports 1 analyst Nick Wright did not hold back during a recent segment of ‘First Things First,’ calling both moves a sign of a front office feeling the pressure.
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Particularly after the Bills parted ways with head coach Sean McDermott following the 2025-26 season.
“The DJ Moore trade and the Bradley Chubb signing feel like the moves of a — let’s call it semi-desperate GM,” Wright said. “That the GM feels like the clock is ticking. To me, giving up what they did for DJ Moore, and then also giving him a new contract, which they didn’t have to do, and paying what they paid for Bradley Chubb, when they should know more than any team in the league — signing the older pass rusher coming off major injuries is a risk.”
The injury concern is hard to ignore. Chubb missed the entire 2024 season with a knee injury, and that is still fresh in people’s minds. But a healthy, productive 17-game stretch in 2025 has done a lot to change the conversation around him.
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What also changes is the situation he is walking into. Buffalo has a new head coach and a first-year defensive coordinator in Jim Leonhard, whose scheme runs an aggressive odd-man front built to generate pressure.
That setup could be a good fit for Chubb’s style, and if it clicks, a third double-digit sack season is not out of reach.
Wright’s skepticism is not baseless. These are expensive, high-risk moves. But risky offseasons are not exactly rare in the NFL. Every contender is rolling the dice somewhere. Buffalo’s just doing it louder than most.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Mar 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.