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After a few splashes in the trenches on the first unofficial day of “tampering” free agency, the Buffalo Bills followed that up with a move in the backfield on offense.
On Tuesday, the Bills agreed to terms with former Washington Commanders running back J.D. McKissic. Reportedly he received a two-year deal from the Bills.
In his past two seasons in Washington, McKissic has put up his best back-to-back years in the NFL. He averaged 4.3 yards per carry with 577 total rushing yards. McKissic added seven total touchdowns.
McKissic could particularly fit in well with the Bills for his pass-catching abilities. However, it appears Buffalo’s front office might have had their eye on another excellent receiving running back: Christian McCaffrey.
According to SiriuxXM NFL insider Adam Caplan, the Bills had “strong interest” in trading for the Carolina Panthers player. Reportedly Carolina was hesitant to move McCaffrey–understandably so considering his talent.
After not finding a way to land McCaffrey, the Bills landed on McKissic.
The Bills had been mentioned as a team that could be interested in McCaffrey prior to Tuesday. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane are familiar with the running back dating back to their time in Carolina.
While the 25-year-old was technically drafted after McDermott left for Buffalo, Beane did not join the Bills until after the 2017 draft. He was heavily involved in the scouting process on the playmaker.
McKissic now goes on to join Devin Singletary and Zack Moss in the Bills’ backfield. Even if Buffalo did have interest in the Panthers’ All-Pro rusher, there now really isn’t any space for him.
But the team is still likely to continue addressing other needs as the days roll on in the free agency window.
Stay up-to-date with all of the Bills’ movement during the 2022 free agency period with Bills Wire’s full tracker below:
Tracker: Full list of Bills transactions as free agency window opens
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