Bills Sign RB Matt Breida
Matt Breida will leave the Dolphins but stay in the AFC East. The Bills are signing the four-year veteran running back, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Breida is expected to sign a one-year deal. The Bills announced the move.
The Dolphins acquired Breida from the 49ers during the 2020 draft but did not receive much production from the elusive back. Breida, however, has rushed for more than 600 yards in multiple seasons — including 814 in 2018 — and is one of the league’s fastest ball carriers. He will join Devin Singletary and Zack Moss in Buffalo.
The 49ers shipped Breida to the Dolphins for a fifth-round pick, but he ended last season with just 254 rushing yards despite having played in 12 games. Miami has since pivoted to former Rams back Malcolm Brown, who will team with Myles Gaskin. The Bills’ backfield suddenly looks crowded, with Breida set to vie for time with recent Day 2 picks.
A former UDFA out of Georgia Southern, Breida played a key role for multiple Kyle Shanahan offenses. He topped five yards per carry in both 2018 and ’19, doing so on 153 carries in 2018. Raheem Mostert ended up usurping Breida in San Francisco, but Breida still helped a 49ers backfield that was without high-end signing Jerick McKinnon for two full seasons. The 26-year-old back will look to re-establish his career in Buffalo.
Minor NFL Transactions: 3/24/21
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: DE Efe Obada
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: K Matt Ammendola
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: LS Joe Fortunato
Miami Dolphins
- Re-Signed: LB Elandon Roberts
New England Patriots
- Signed: LB LaRoy Reynolds
Seattle Seahawks
- Re-Signed: OL Jordan Simmons
Bills To Re-Sign Isaiah McKenzie
The Bills are keeping their gadget player. Buffalo has agreed to terms on a new deal for receiver/returner Isaiah McKenzie, his agency announced on Twitter. It’s a one-year deal worth $1.15MM with $350K guaranteed, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets.
Before he decided to re-sign with the Bills, the Bears were a team that expressed interest in McKenzie as a free agent, a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). McKenzie entered the league as a fifth-round pick of the Broncos back in 2017. He struggled fielding punts, was cut midway through the 2018 season, and promptly claimed by Buffalo. Since then, he’s turned into a very nice find for Sean McDermott.
On his only punt return of the season in 2020, he returned it 84 yards four a touchdown. He couldn’t be the normal returner due to the presence of All-Pro Andre Roberts, but with Roberts signing in Houston McKenzie should be the return guy in 2021.
He also carved out a sizable role on offense, playing around a quarter of the offensive snaps last year. He finished with 30 catches for 282 yards and five touchdowns, and also had ten carries.
Bills’ Star Lotulelei To Return
In the midst of the initial free agency frenzy, Star Lotulelei informed the Bills that he plans to return in 2021 (Twitter link via Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic). The defensive tackle opted-out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Lotulelei inked a five year, $50MM free agent deal with the Bills in 2018. The deal yielded mixed reactions and mixed results. The former first-round pick has largely declined since his strong rookie year in Carolina. Although he started for the Bills in 2018 and 2019, the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus weren’t high on his performance. In ’19, Lotulelei was on the field for 516 snaps and recorded two sacks from the interior.
Still, Lotulelei can help the Bills’ run defense, which was one of their weak spots in 2020.
Contract Details: Trubisky, Andrews, Carson, Jones, Reiff, Joyner
Let’s catch up on the latest contract details from around the league:
- QB Mitchell Trubisky, Bills: One-year, $2MM base salary with $1.5MM guaranteed, $500K signing bonus, and $2MM available in incentives. Via Field Yates of ESPN on Twitter.
- C David Andrews, Patriots: Four-years, $19 MM, with $6.5MM fully guaranteed. More money available in play-time incentives. Via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network on Twitter.
- RB Chris Carson, Seahawks: Two-years, $10.425MM, $4.5MM signing bonus and $1MM guaranteed salary for 2021. $4.5MM non-guaranteed 2022 salary and $450K in per-game roster bonuses in ‘22. Up to $1.4MM in incentives in both years. Via Dan Graziano of ESPN on Twitter.
- RB Aaron Jones, Packers: Four-years, $48MM. The $13MM signing bonus is the only fully guaranteed money in the contract. A $3.5MM roster bonus is due on the first day of next league year. For 2023, a $7MM roster bonus is due on the third day of the league year. You can read the full breakdown of each year of the contract via Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.
- OL Riley Reiff, Bengals: One-year, $7.5MM. $5.5MM guaranteed. We hadn’t known the terms of this contract yet, and $7.5MM is a pretty decent price for the Bengals for a solid starting tackle. Via Yates on Twitter.
- S Lamarcus Joyner, Jets: One-year, up to $4.5MM. $2.5MM is guaranteed, with a $1MM signing bonus and $1.5MM base salary. Up to $500K in per game active roster bonuses and $1.5MM in playing time and interception incentives. Via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle on Twitter.
New York Notes: Darnold, Giants, Sanders
Before the legal tampering period kicked off, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com said it was more likely than not that the Jets would trade Sam Darnold, assuming that BYU QB Zach Wilson — whom the Jets would select with the No. 2 overall pick to replace Darnold — “checks the important boxes during the pre-draft process.” Cimini said at the time that there was a market for Darnold, and he named Washington, the Bears, the Seahawks, the Texans, and the 49ers as potential landing spots.
But since then, WFT signed Ryan Fitzpatrick and Chicago acquired Andy Dalton. Obviously, neither of those QBs are long-term answers, but they do at least obviate an immediate need for a signal-caller. Meanwhile, the Seahawks are moving forward with Russell Wilson, Houston may be unable to trade incumbent QB Deshaun Watson in light of the sexual abuse allegations that have been levied against him, and it’s unclear how actively San Francisco is pursuing an upgrade over Jimmy Garoppolo. As such, the Jets might not be able to trade Darnold, and it will be interesting to see if that will impact the team’s decision with respect to Zach Wilson (or any other rookie passer).
Now for more out of the Empire State:
- In less exciting Jets news, the team is still looking into free agent kickers and wants to find a starting-caliber corner, as Cimini writes. The CB need will probably be filled in the draft; Cimini does not expect the club to pursue Richard Sherman, despite the obvious Sherman-Robert Saleh connection.
- It might go without saying, but when the Giants agreed to a three-year, $63MM pact with DL Leonard Williams a few days ago, Williams agreed to drop his grievance concerning his 2020 franchise tag, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. Williams was tagged as a defensive tackle but believed he should have received a defensive end tag, and if he had prevailed, his tag number for 2021 would have jumped to $21.4MM. Since he got a $21MM AAV on his extension, things worked out just fine for him in the end.
- Per Dan Duggan of The Athletic, Williams — who is clearly not afraid to bet on himself — pushed for a shorter contract so that he can hit the open market again before he turns 30. Duggan says the Giants have explored restructures for 2020 signees James Bradberry and Blake Martinez, something the club may need to really push for now that it has agreed to a big-money deal for WR Kenny Golladay.
- The Giants signed veteran TE Kyle Rudolph earlier this week, but his addition does not impact Evan Engram‘s status with the team, a source tells Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com. Engram will play out the 2021 season on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal and hopes for a strong platform performance after struggling a bit in 2020.
- These days, instead of being forced to reach out to agents to convince their clients to play in western New York, agents are the ones calling the Bills, as Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News writes. Head coach Sean McDermott and GM Brandon Beane have created a winning club and a positive culture, and players around the league are taking notice and now see Buffalo as an attractive destination. While the Bills didn’t have a ton of cap space heading into this year’s free agent cycle — or many major holes to fill — they did bring in WR Emmanuel Sanders, whom they had targeted for several years. Sanders is a prime example of the changing feelings towards Buffalo, saying “[w]ho wouldn’t want to be part of it?” (via John Wawrow of the Associated Press).
Jets To Sign Tyler Kroft
The Jets have signed tight end Tyler Kroft to a one-year deal, per an announcement from his agent. Kroft, a former third-round pick of the Bengals, has spent the last two seasons with the Bills. 
The Rutgers product will be about an hour-and-a-half away from his old stomping grounds with a real opportunity for targets. Chris Herndon isn’t necessarily locked in as Mike LaFleur‘s top tight end, which opens the door for Kroft.
Kroft did his best work with the Bengals, particularly in 2017 when he totaled 42 catches, 404 receiving yards, and seven touchdowns. That year helped propel him towards a three-year, $18MM free agent deal with Buffalo. He hasn’t come close since, but he did manage 12 grabs for 119 yards and three touchdowns last year.
Bills To Sign Jacob Hollister
Jacob Hollister is saying goodbye to Seattle. On Friday, the former Seahawks tight end agreed to aa one-year deal with the Bills (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). 
Hollister gets to reunite with his old Wyoming teammate Josh Allen, which could mean an uptick in targets. After two years of limited usage in New England, Hollister enjoyed a breakout 2019 season with the Seahawks, hauling in 41 receptions for 349 yards and three touchdowns. Then, he went from 59 targets to just 40 looks in 2020. He finished out with 25/209/3.
The writing was on the wall for Hollister — the Seahawks’ new one-year deal for Gerald Everett pushed him out of the equation. Everett, who will earn $7MM on his free agent contract, is coming off a career-year with 41 catches for 417 yards and one TD for the Rams.
Bills GM Discusses Potential Josh Allen Extension
Josh Allen is now eligible for an extension, but it doesn’t sound like the Bills are currently prioritizing a long-term pact for the franchise quarterback. During an appearance on The Cris Collinsworth Podcast, general manager Brandon Beane admitted that his team was focused on free agency and the draft.
“Yeah, [Allen] said he was going to give us a nice hometown discount, and hopefully we’ll get him done,” Beane joked (via Charean Williams of ProFootballTalk.com). “No, in all seriousness, we’ll talk to Josh and his people later in the spring, get through the draft where we can just focus on that. That’s obviously a big financial commitment that you have to make. That will probably be sometime May through the summer. I don’t know.”
In other words, the Bills are obviously going to explore an extension with their star quarterback, but there are more pressing matters at the moment. We heard similarly earlier this year, when NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Bills would likely approach Allen’s camp about an extension in the spring or summer.
Allen had a breakout campaign in 2020, transforming into an MVP candidate and guiding the Bills to 13 wins. He finished the year having completed 69.2-percent of his passes for 4,544 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, and he added another 421 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He also helped lead the Bills to the AFC Championship Game, the organization’s first appearance in the game since 1993.
With the 24-year-old passer under team control through 2022 — via the fifth-year option the Bills will exercise by May — the team will have some time to complete this process. Considering some of the recent quarterback deals that have been handed out, Allen will certainly be eyeing a lucrative pay day when he inevitably puts pen to paper.
Bills Re-Sign Taiwan Jones
The Bills are locking up a key special teamer. Buffalo has re-signed running back Taiwan Jones to a one-year deal, the team announced on Twitter.
It’s fair to assume that the contract is for pretty close to the league minimum. Jones played only four total snaps on offense last year, but played around 40 percent of the total special teams snaps. Jones will turn 33 in July, and the veteran has done a nice job of sticking around in the league for what will be his 11th pro season in the fall.
He entered the league as a fourth-round pick all the way back in 2011, and managed to carve out a career despite never carrying the ball more than 16 times in a season. He also was the Raiders’ kick returner for a couple of years, and had 829 return yards in 2015, which was the most in the AFC.
After his first six seasons with the Raiders he was with the Bills from 2017-18, then spent a year with the Texans, before returning to Buffalo last season.