Christian Wade managed to capture the hearts of Buffalo Bills fans without ever playing in a regular-season game. Now, the British speedster will be on to his next adventure.
The Bills released the running back on April 1 after three seasons with the team. Wade, a converted rugby star from England, had been allocated to the Bills in 2019 as part of the NFL’s International Pathway Program, which created special exemptions for foreign players trying to make it into the league. Wade drew some big attention for his play in preseason games, but never made it off the practice squad during his time with the Bills.
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Wade Gained Extra Year With Bills
In the International Pathway Program, players received a two-year exemption that allowed them to be added to a team’s practice squad without having to count against the limit. Wade remained on the Bills’ practice squad for two seasons — unable to be pulled up to the active roster through the 2019 and 2020 seasons — but gained an extra year when the league expanded the program last year.
As WGR 550’s Sal Capaccio noted, Wade was given the opportunity to compete for a roster spot at no cost to the Bills.
“So, Bills RB Christian Wade now once again has an exemption on the roster and the practice squad, basically in the exact situation he’s been the last two years…Wade can still make the team,” Capaccio reported in March 2021. “The Bills can bring 91 players to camp (with Wade as the exemption), unless of course the NFL reduces the roster limits like they did last year due to Covid.”
But Wade suffered a shoulder injury that kept him out of the 2021 season, and the team released him this week.
Wade had made quite an impression on Bills fans in the 2019 preseason. On his first NFL snap, Wade took a handoff and scampered 65 yards for a touchdown.
Bills Could Boost Running Back Position
The Bills have already made some moves to boost the backfield this offseason. They signed veteran running back Duke Johnson, who last season played for the Dolphins and had 330 yards on 71 carries with three touchdowns.
The Bills also tried to add the versatile J.D. McKissic, coming to an agreement on a deal before he changed his mind to return to the Washington Commanders. Bills general manager Brandon Beane expressed some frustration that the Commanders kept working on McKissic after he picked the Bills.
“That was tough. Obviously, he was a guy we targeted and, in this business, in general, when you have an agreement, it’s good,” Beane said, via ESPN’s Alaina Getzenburg. “But until there’s ink on the paper, and his agent did a great job. Doug Hendrickson and CJ LaBoy did a great job. There were some things that went down with the other organization, which is painful, but they chose to do what they did, and I couldn’t stop it.”
There could be at least one other significant change in Buffalo’s running game in 2022. Bills head coach Sean McDermott said he wants to see quarterback Josh Allen running the ball less in the upcoming season, staying in the relative safety of the pocket.
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