A dinner meeting with coaches helped the Buffalo Bills seal the deal with Bradley Chubb, leading to a key defensive addition this offseason.
The path to the Buffalo Bills landing Bradley Chubb at the beginning of free agency didn’t start with a contract offer. It started with a conversation.
And more specifically, dinner.
As the Bills worked through multiple options to upgrade their pass rush, Chubb quickly emerged as one of the top fits internally. Before free agency really took off, general manager Brandon Beane had coaches and scouts separately evaluate edge rushers who would fit the team’s new 3-4 defensive look.
When those lists came together, Chubb’s name appeared near the top.
Bills head coach Joe Brady and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard then sat down with Chubb for dinner before free agency officially opened. There were no contract negotiations at that point. The goal was to simply see if the fit made sense on and off the field.
It didn’t take long for that answer to become clear.
Brady quickly saw the leadership traits that made Chubb a team captain during his time with the Miami Dolphins. Just as important, the Bills viewed him as a player who could help fix one of their biggest problems from last season.
“What we can’t allow to happen is teams shortening the game on us,” Brady said during an interview with The Buffalo News regarding Chubb and free agency. “And how do you shorten the game on us? You run the football on us.”
That’s where Chubb’s value stood out.
While some edge rushers are known primarily for getting after the quarterback, Buffalo wanted someone who could do both. Chubb brings pass-rush production, but he’s also strong against the run, something the Bills badly needed after finishing near the bottom of the league in rushing defense.
“You have Bradley Chubb and Greg Rousseau on the edge, it’s going to make it a lot tougher to run the football,” Brady said. “But Bradley Chubb also brings that pass-rush ability where sometimes I think you get guys who are pass-rush specialists in the league, where when they’re in the game, you can run the rock at them. A guy like Bradley Chubb really enhances our run defense as well.”
Not long after that dinner, things moved quickly.
Chubb left the meeting convinced, telling his agents to begin negotiations with Buffalo. While discussions stretched late, it became clear to the Bills that they were in a position to get a deal done if they wanted it.
With the Maxx Crosby to Baltimore trade cancelled and Trey Hendrickson ultimately signing in Baltimore, the Bills moved forward with the former 29-year-old.
Buffalo signed Chubb to a three-year contract worth as much as $52.5 million. The real deal, however, is two years at $29 million as the team has a friendly out should they choose to go that route.
With the Bills tiptoeing the salary cap line, they need to be smarter with how they spend money. Getting to know a player before offering a contract, it makes a potential $52.5 million commitment a lot easier to swallow.
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