The Buffalo Bills haven't been among the most active teams in 2026 NFL free agency, but they have made some moves. Most of these transactions have been relatively minor—re-signing a punter here, replacing the backup quarterback there—but one move was not prudent for the long-term health of the franchise. The biggest mistake the Bills made in Week 1 of 2026 NFL free agency was signing edge rusher Bradley Chubb.
Why the Bills signing Bradley Chubb is a major mistake
General manager Brandon Beane loves doing two things when it comes to NFL free agency. He loves signing guys who had good games against the Bills and inking aging, injury-prone pass rushers.
During the first week of 2026 NFL free agency, Beane signed Chubb, who turns 30 in June, to a three-year, $43.5 million contract with $29 million guaranteed. That is the sixth-biggest deal given out to an edge rusher this offseason. In a vacuum, that's not bad. The Bills got a veteran pass rusher with a track record of success (*when healthy) at a price lower than the top of the market.
Still, the problem that Bills Mafia has with this is that they've seen this show before.
In 2022, Beane signed 33-year-old Von Miller to a six-year, $120 million deal. Over three seasons with the team, Miller played in 36 of a possible 51 games, starting just 11 of them. He put up 14.0 total sacks, which averages out to just over 4.5 a season. For comparison, Miller averaged 11.0 sacks in his decade with the Denver Broncos.
Ahead of the 2025 campaign, Beane struck again, bringing in Joey Bosa. The good news here is that it was only a one-year deal. Still, the 30-year-old produced just 5.0 sacks in a regular season where he looked slowed by injuries from midseason on, and no sacks with just one QB hit in the playoffs.
As for how these two did in their most recent games against Buffalo before Beane brought them in, Miller had a sack, 2.0 tackles for a loss, and a QB hit. Bosa was even better, sacking Josh Allen three times and adding nine tackles, six TFLs, and five QB hits in his last game against the Bills before joining them a few seasons later.
Now, these traditions are continuing in 2026 NFL free agency with Bradley Chubb. Let's see if he checks all of Beane's boxes.
Chubb will be on the wrong side of 30 when he plays his first game for the Bills. Check. Last season, he recorded 2.0 sacks, a TFL, and five QB hits while playing against Buffalo. Check. And he got a multi-year deal despite having massive injury issues throughout his entire football career, including three torn ACLs. Check.
That last piece is the real issue. Chubb is an excellent pass rusher (*when healthy). The problem is, he's just not healthy that much. His 2025 campaign was the first time he played a full season since his rookie year. In between, he played 4, 14, 7, 16, 8, 8, and 16 games. And despite showing flashes of brilliance at times, he's only surpassed 8.0 sacks in a season twice. He did it once as a rookie and again in 2023 before tearing his ACL in Week 17 and missing the entire 2024 season.
Beane likes to say that the Bills can't play at the top of the NFL free agency market because Josh Allen has a big contract. However, that simply isn't true. Plenty of teams with highly-paid QBs get top free agents. In fact, the Baltimore Ravens signed Trey Hendrickson, the most expensive pass-rusher on the market, this offseason, despite paying Lamar Jackson $52 million per season (Allen makes $55 million annually).
No, the reason the Bills are in this salary cap spot is because of deals like Chubb's. This year, the Bills have dead cap money being paid to older, failed free agents like Bosa, Curtis Samuel, Larry Ogunjobi, and Taylor Rapp. Those four players—who will contribute nothing to the team in 2026 and did little last season either—are on the books for around $14 million.
Add that $14 million to Chubb's $14 million, and you get $28 million, which is… drum roll please…
Exactly what the Ravens paid for Hendrickson.
So, the biggest mistake the Bills made in Week 1 of 2026 NFL free agency was signing Bradley Chubb, because it's the same mistake Brandon Beane keeps making over and over again.
