The Bills added edge rusher Bradley Chubb in free agency and they are set to make a veteran addition to the back end of their defense as well.
Agents Kevin Conner and Robert Brown announced that safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson has agreed to a one-year deal in Buffalo. Gardner-Johnson can make up to $6 million under the terms of the deal.
Gardner-Johnson opened last season with the Texans, but was released after three games and signed with the Bears after a short stint on the Ravens’ practice squad. He had 51 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions and a forced fumble in 10 regular season games for the team. He missed the playoff opener with a concussion and returned with four tackles in Chicago’s overtime loss to the Rams in the divisional round.
Gardner-Johnson has also played for the Eagles, Lions and Saints since entering the league as a 2019 fifth-round pick. He won a Super Bowl ring while with the Eagles and will try to help the Bills end their long quest for the first one in franchise history.
Bills Clips
Free agent edge rusher Bradley Chubb has agreed to a three-year, $43.5 million deal with the Bills, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. The deal includes $29 million in guarantees and $9 million in incentives.
Chubb, 29, ranks 36th on PFT’s list of top-100 free agents.
He played all 17 games last season after returning from a torn ACL that kept him out the entire 2024 season. Chubb totaled 47 tackles, 8.5 sacks and two forced fumbles in 766 snaps. He played 72 percent of the team’s defensive snaps.
The Dolphins acquired Chubb in a trade with the Broncos during the 2022 season. They recently released him, making him an unrestricted free agent.
The Broncos made him a first-round pick in 2018.
In his career, he has appeared in 90 games, with 89 starts, and has totaled 303 tackles, 48 sacks, one interception, seven passes defensed and 15 forced fumbles.
With the new league year coming on Wednesday afternoon, the Bills have made a procedural move to open up some cap space.
Per Field Yates of ESPN, Buffalo has restructured quarterback Josh Allen’s contract to free up $12 million against the cap.
Allen was previously set to count for roughly $56.39 million of cap space in 2026.
The Bills and Allen agreed to a six-year, $330 million extension last March, putting him under contract through 2030.
The quarterback completed 69.3 percent of his throws for 3,668 yards with 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2025. He also rushed for 579 yards with 14 TDs.
Defensive back Cam Lewis is joining the Bears on a two-year deal, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports.
Lewis, who turns 29 next month, played his college ball at Buffalo and signed with the Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2019. He played six seasons with the Bills.
He signed a one-year contract in 2023 and a two-year contract in 2024.
Now, he’s leaving Buffalo.
Lewis played 76 games with 14 starts with the Bills, totaling 166 tackles, an interception, three forced fumbles and 11 passes defensed.
He played 1,346 defensive snaps and 1,043 in his career with the team.
Connor McGovern said last week that he thought his time with the Bills was “over and done,” so it came as a surprise when news broke over the weekend that the center was signing a four-year deal to remain in Buffalo.
During an interview with Adam Schein of Mad Dog Sports Radio, McGovern explained how things took an unexpected turn ahead of the start of free agency. McGovern said that he always had interest in returning to the Bills, but that the team said he’d get a chance to hit the open market during exit interviews and that remained the plan until quarterback Josh Allen shared his preference for McGovern’s return.
“They were gonna let me test free agency,” McGovern said. “Then our good friend No. 17 kind of got involved and wanted to make sure that this got done.”
Keeping the best player on the team happy is usually a good idea and it seems the Bills were able to do that by securing McGovern’s commitment this week.
The Bills are keeping one of their tight ends around for the next couple of years.
According to multiple reports, Dawson Knox has agreed to a new three-year contract with Buffalo.
Knox, 29, had one year remaining on his deal with the Bills. But, as noted by Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, the tight end was due to make $12 million in 2026, with a $1.5 million roster bonus due to him on Sunday.
Now Knox and Buffalo have worked through a new deal to keep him with the club.
A third-round pick in the 2019 draft, Knox has played his entire career with the Bills. A one-time Pro Bowler, Knox has registered 229 catches for 2,694 yards with 27 touchdowns in his seven seasons.
In 2026, Knox played all 17 games with 12 starts, tallying 36 receptions for 417 yards with four TDs. He was on the field for 58 percent of Buffalo’s offensive snaps.
Bills kicker Tyler Bass missed the 2025 season with hip and groin injuries and he’ll be back with the team in 2026 on a new contract.
According to multiple reports, Bass and the Bills have agreed to a revised contract for the coming season. Bass has agreed to a $1.5 million pay cut in exchange for the Bills guaranteeing him $1 million of his compensation.
Bass will also have the ability to make back most of the pay cut through incentives.
Bass spent five seasons as the kicker in Buffalo before missing last season. He is 131-of-155 on field goals and 264-of-274 on extra points for his career.
The Bills are re-signing punter Mitch Wishnowsky to a one-year deal, Dianna Russini of TheAthletic.com reports.
Wishnowsky, 34, was the third punter for the Bills last season, following Brad Robbins and Cameron Johnston. He averaged 45.3 yards on 38 punts, with a 41.3-yard net, and placed 18 inside the 20-yard line.
After kicker Matt Prater’s quad injury, Wishnowsky kicked off in Week 18 and the playoffs.
The 49ers selected Wishnowsky in the fourth round in 2019, and he spent six years with the team.
Wishnowsky has a career average of 45.5 yards on 348 punts, with a 40.9-yard net.
Former NFL linebacker Darron Lee appeared in court on Monday for a preliminary hearing on charges of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. And the case against him includes some unusual, and particularly incriminating, evidence.
Via Local 3 News, the prosecution offered testimony indicating that Lee had consulted ChatGPT on how to deal with a person who is unresponsive. The message came from Lee’s phone.
Lee also asked ChatGPT about the injuries that would be consistent with someone falling in the shower.
Body camera footage showed Lee telling a police officer that the victim, 29-year-old Gabriella Perpetuo, may have slipped and fallen in the shower but that Lee didn’t know what had happened to her. The police report in the case indicates that blood was found through the house, along with broken glass.
Authorities also said that Perpetuo had “multiple stab wounds, black eyes, bite marks, and blood coming from her nose and mouth.”
Prosecutors have not ruled out seeking the death penalty against Lee.
He was a first-round pick of the Jets in 2016. Lee also played for the Chiefs and the Bills.
In addition to the criminal prosecution, Lee faces a $50 million wrongful-death lawsuit.
Quarterback Kyle Allen is signing a two-year, $4.1 million deal with the Bills, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Allen has another $2 million in incentives in the contract.
Allen will reunite with his close friend, Josh Allen, after spending the 2023 season as Josh Allen’s backup in Buffalo.
Kyle Allen, 30, was Jared Goff’s backup with the Lions last season. He appeared in only three games and threw only two passes.
He has not started a game since 2022 with the Texans but has appeared in 34 games, with 19 starts, in his career.
Allen has also spent time in Carolina, Washington and Pittsburgh in addition to his stops in Buffalo, Houston and Detroit.
In his career, he has completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 4,753 yards with 26 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
