Getty Former Miami Dolphins running back Matt Breida has signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills.
The Buffalo Bills are bringing in another running back to team up with Zack Moss and Devin Singletary and the move could have a lot of upside.
NFL Network National Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that former Miami Dolphins running back Matt Breida was staying in the AFC East and was signing a one-year deal with the Bills to add to the tandem of Moss and Singletary.
The signing was another big one for Bills general manager Brandon Beane as he’s been expected to sign or draft a running back after stressing the need to improve the running game in his end-of-season press conference.
But, to be fair, Beane did note that improving the running game didn’t mean just signing another running back. He wanted to improve all aspects of the running game, including blocking from both linemen, wide receivers, and tight ends.
Breida, who is a known speedster and has rushed for 2,156 yards and six touchdowns in his career, has spent time with both the Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers. He spent the first three seasons of his career with the Niners before playing for the Dolphins this past season.
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Breida Will Complement Devin Singletary and Zack Moss Well
This past season, Singletary and Moss combined for 1,168 yards and just six touchdowns. While the Bills offense was highly predicated on the pass, and quarterback Josh Allen’s arm, they could never quite run the ball when they needed to.
They ran for a team-high 190 yards against the New England Patriots during their Week 8 matchup and their second-highest total came in Week 15 when they played the Denver Broncos and rushed for 182 yards. With Josh Allen’s 421 rushing yards, the Bills ranked 20th in the NFL in rushing yards according to pro-football reference.
They lacked speed at times this season and Brieda could be the perfect complement to both Singletary and Moss. ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques, who has been a big supporter of the Bills drafting Clemson’s Travis Etienne, thought that Beane’s signing of Breida was an endorsement of both running backs that were already on the team.
Breida no doubt has home run speed out of the backfield — and ultimately that was a void the Bills needed to fill.
Beane’s actions speak louder than his words and this is his biggest endorsement of Moss/Singletary yet
He also still doesn’t think that the Bills would pass on Etienne if he was available at No. 30 of this year’s draft. Etienne ran 40-yard dash times of 4.41 and 4.43 at Clemson’s pro day and could provide another big weapon for Allen and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.
Time to watch some Dolphins film but I’m not ready to say a back who didn’t beat out Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed will keep the Bills from drafting Etienne if he’s on the board at 30.
On paper it looks like a good signing. Receiving threat w/ home run speed
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Breida Had Injury Riddled Season in Miami
This past season was rough for Breida as he played in 12 games and only started once. He missed matchups with both the Arizona Cardinals and the Los Angeles Chargers due to a hamstring injury and also missed two games after being placed on the Covid-19 list.
Outside of his injuries though Breida never got much going in Miami as he only registered one game with double-digit carries and didn’t record a carry during the final two weeks of the season.
So, Breida’s contract could be considered a prove-it deal as he looks to return to his 2018 form where he rushed for 814 yards and three touchdowns for the 49ers.
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