Chris Ivory is off of the board. The Bills are signing the veteran running back, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). It’s a two-year deal worth $5.5MM, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The deal gives him $3.25MM guaranteed in the first year and it can be worth as much as $6MM.
Ivory was released by the Jaguars late last month, freeing him from the final three years of a five-year, $32.5MM deal. At the time, the Jaguars thought they were getting a high-end running back as Ivory was coming off of a 1,000+ yard, seven-touchdown season with the Jets. Unfortunately, he did not produce in Jacksonville. Last season, Ivory averaged just 3.4 yards per carry.
Even though we haven’t seen Ivory play consistently well since 2015, multiple teams expressed interest in recent days. The Browns also met with Ivory before he agreed to a deal with Buffalo.
Ivory will slot somewhere behind LeSean McCoy on the Bills’ depth chart. Other tailbacks currently under contract in Buffalo include Marcus Murphy and Aaron Green. Bills veteran running backs Travaris Cadet and Taiwan Jones are eligible for free agency next week, as is fullback Mike Tolbert.
Most of the league’s impact free agents will not be able to sign with teams until March 14. Because Ivory was released from his contract, he had the ability to sign with a club at any time. The Bills snagged another “early” free agent recently when they inked cornerback Vontae Davis to a one-year deal.
Such a terrible signing. Why give him that much guaranteed money? With the draft deep with quality RBs and the FA market already flooded with quality veterans (Gore, Stewart, Martin, etc.) and coupled with the Bills’ already tight cap space, I think a better bargain could of been had. Especially for a player who in a perfect world will receive less than 100 touches next season.
I agreed with you, $3.25 for a back up RB? Seems high to me especially considering the production he’s had recently.
I thought free agency didnt start until the new leauge year