Despite a lengthy injury history that’s dogged him at every stop in his NFL career to this point, the Buffalo Bills still thought it was a good idea to drop a 3-year, $43.5 million free-agent contract on edge rusher Bradley Chubb.
According to Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport, it’s a mistake they could end up paying for in the long run, calling Chubb’s injury issues flaring up again the “worst case scenario” for the Bills on defense in 2026.
“The Bills had injury issues a year ago defensively, especially in the front-seven,” Davenport wrote. “If those continue, trouble could be brewing, especially if Chubb (who missed the entire 2024 season with an ACL tear) joins them. Add to that potential issues in the slot after the departure of Taron Johnson, and the nightmare scenario is a defense that is largely unchanged in 2026 backsliding against the pass while once again struggling against the run.”
The 2023 torn ACL was actually the 2nd ACL tear of Chubb’s career. He also suffered a partial ACL tear in 2019 with the Denver Broncos that cost him all but 4 games that season. In 2021, Chubb only played 7 games for the Broncos after ankle surgery.
Chubb Seemed Like Next Superstar for Broncos
The Broncos thought they had the NFL’s next elite pass rusher when they drafted Chubb out of North Carolina State with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft — further reinforced by Chubb’s 12.0 sacks during his rookie year.
Things never panned out for Chubb in Denver, and he was eventually traded to the Miami Dolphins in a blockbuster move midway through the 2022 season. The Dolphins signed him to a 5-year, $110 million contract extension.
The Bills sent another massive payday Chubb’s way.
“Dolphins edge Bradley Chubb and the Bills agreed on a 3-year, $43.5M deal with $29M guaranteed,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account on March 9.
Chubb was designated a post-June 1 release and signed with the Bills within the first hour of the new NFL league year opening.
Chubb Swooped Up Quickly by Super Bowl Contender
If the last 2 years have been any indication, the Broncos and Bills will be on a collision course in 2026.
In the last 2 years, the Bills and Broncos have swapped with ending each other’s seasons.
The Bills thumped the Broncos in the AFC Wild Card Round following the 2024 season, and the Broncos beat the Bills in an overtime thriller in the AFC Divisional Round following the 2025 season.
“Sources: The Dolphins and two-time Pro Bowl pass-rusher Bradley Chubb are parting ways, making the 29-year-old a free agent,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz wrote on his official X account on February 16. “In his two full seasons with the Dolphins (2023 & 2025), Chubb has 20 sacks, 8 FF, and 117 tackles. He should have a nice market … Chubb had 8.5 sacks this past season and was a top trade candidate before the deadline, with three teams actively trying to trade for him before Miami opted to keep him. Now he’s a free agent and should have heavy interest.”
Chubb really has been almost dominant over his last 2 full seasons — 11.0 sacks in 2023 and 8.5 sacks in 2025, sandwiched by missing all of the 2024 season with a torn ACL.
“Bradley Chubb had a $31.2M cap number for 2026. Miami will save $7.3M in cap space while taking on $23.8M in dead money by moving on from Chubb, who had 8.5 sacks last year,” The 33rd Team’s Ari Meirov wrote on his official X account.
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