The Buffalo Bills are doing their best to find more help for quarterback Josh Allen in the backfield. It was a major issue for Buffalo as its 2022 season ended in premature fashion once again.
Mere hours after Buffalo lost running back Devin Singletary to the Houston Texans during NFL free agency, general manager Brandon Beane found a replacement.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report that Buffalo has signed veteran running back Damien Harris from the AFC East-rival New England Patriots. The deal is for one year with terms not yet known.
A third-round pick of the Patriots out of Alabama in 2019, Harris led the team in rushing as a third-year player. Back in 2021, the 26-year-old ball-carrier put up a career-best 929 rushing yards to go with 15 total touchdowns.
Harris seems to be an ideal fit for the Buffalo Bills in that he can take some pressure off Allen in short-yardage and goal-line situations. You really don’t want to see your quarterback hit as much as Allen was the past couple years in these scenarios.
While the veteran is not a dynamic dual-threat back (40 career catches), he will add something between the tackles for Buffalo. It’s an area that Singletary struggled in during his four-year run in Western New York.
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Buffalo Bills running back situation coming together following Damien Harris signing
Getting Harris on what promises to be a team-friendly one-year deal should be seen as a boon for Buffalo.
He fell out of favor last season in New England, taking on a secondary role behind Rhamondre Stevenson. Though, the back was still able to average a solid 4.4 yards per attempt.
Harris joins a backfield that includes talented youngster James Cook, who Buffalo selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Cook averaged an impressive 5.7 yards per rush in limited action as a rookie. Veteran Nyheim Hines will also see some touches behind Allen in 2023.
For the Buffalo Bills, there was some thought that they might go big-game hunting at running back this offseason. That included being linked to Derrick Henry and Dalvin Cook on the trade block. Right now, this doesn’t seem to be in the cards.