Here is Bills Wire’s position-by-position breakdown of the team’s roster, continuing with the running backs, including the season that was and projecting forward:
The Buffalo Bills’ running backs situation took on new life this season, as four-year starter LeSean McCoy was released by the team ahead of the 2019 campaign. Buffalo’s ground attack started with veteran Frank Gore as the lead back early in the 2019 season.
Gore started eight games for the Bills, but his production slipped as the seasons progressed. He surpassed Barry Sanders for third on the all-time rushing list this season as his crowning achievement. The veteran also surpassed the 19,000-yard mark for yards from scrimmage mark.
However, it was easy to see that Devin Singletary’s explosiveness would catapult him into feature back territory eventually. The rookie finally did so and led the team with 775 rushing to the tune of 5.1 yards per carry. He also caught 29 passes this year as well.
Senorise Perry and TJ Yeldon also provided depth. Perry’s contributions were viewed most prominently on special teams. Yeldon ended up being the odd man out, failing to dress for 10 games this season.
Contract situation
Singletary is under contract for at least three more seasons, as he is playing under his rookie contract. His cap hit will be $675,000 this year, a bargain if he reproduces his numbers from last year.
Yeldon, for his part, is signed through the 2020 season. He’ll count $1.9 million against the cap next year. His presence on the roster does give the team a solid pass-catching option out of the backfield, if necessary. But Yeldon was seldom found in the team’s active roster on game day in 2019..
Gore signed a one-year deal, as did Perry, during the offseason. Both were team-friendly deals. Gore still hasn’t decided if he’s going to retire or not, and who knows if the Bills would welcome him back? Perry played a mostly special teams role, but Buffalo’s unit did see a big improvement under now special teams coordinator Heath Farwell this season.
Christian Wade, who remains Bills property via international allocation, is also in the fold as he signed a reserve/ futures contract following the season.
The future
Outside of Singletary, this group is largely up in the air. While Gore was an ideal mentor to Singletary, his production late in the season makes it hard to think Buffalo would re-sign the veteran.
Perry could return as an essential part of the team’s special teams unit. However, he offers minimal out of the backfield.
Yeldon could never gain strong footing on a depth job. With Singletary’s emergence as a pass-catcher, this could continue to squeeze Yeldon from snaps, as Yeldon’s primary duty is to provide a receiving presence out of the backfield. His cap hit is reasonable at $1.9 million, but his dead cap hit is only $250,000. Buffalo could easily make this move if they find a replacement.
But one thing is for certain, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott said he believes the NFL is a two-back league. So the Bills would have a spot for another without Gore.
The Bills will need to look for a reserve player (or players) to spell Singletary when he needs a breather. Buffalo looks to veterans for depth on the team, so there’s a good chance that the Bills would sign a veteran to backup Singletary. They could look to the draft as well, but the organization’s track record of finding veterans means they’ll test the free agency market.
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