Bills' Top Players to Avoid in 2023 NFL Free Agency

The Buffalo Bills have a glaring weakness on their offense.

The AFC East franchise lacked a top-tier running back during the Josh Allen era, and that could be a limitation moving forward in competition with the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals.

Kansas City's running back situation has been fluid, but it seems to have found a budding star in Isiah Pacheco. Cincinnati has had Joe Mixon in its starting role.

Devin Singletary produced consecutive 800-yard seasons, but the Bills need their running back of the future to outperform his counterparts in Kansas City and Cincinnati and not be on the same level. Singletary, Pacheco and Mixon all had between 810 and 830 rushing yards in the 2022 regular season.

Buffalo needs to go through a meticulous running back search in the offseason, and even the smallest of factors could eliminate any potential free-agent candidates.

The Bills have James Cook on their roster, so they could look to the draft to partner a younger back with the second-year player. All options have to be considered to place the Bills ahead of their two closest AFC rivals in 2023.

Devin Singletary

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ORCHARD PARK, NY - JANUARY 22: Devin Singletary #26 of the Buffalo Bills plays the field against the Cincinnati Bengals at Highmark Stadium on January 22, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

Singletary put together four respectable seasons in Buffalo, but it is time for the franchise to move on.

Singletary improved during his time in Buffalo, but he was never able to snatch carries from Josh Allen and be the commanding presence in the rushing attack.

Part of the reason for that is Allen not scaling back his aggressiveness on the ground, but one could argue that occurred because the coaching staff did not have full trust in the running backs.

Buffalo could opt to use Cook as its primary back because he is younger and has fresher legs. Singletary could be one or two years away from fading out as a No. 1 running back because of the wear and tear on his body.

The Bills can justify taking a younger approach at running back with Cook and a draft pick. That strategy worked for Kansas City, as it nailed its Pacheco draft selection in 2022.

Sean McDermott and his staff could look to another veteran in free agency to take over as the top back, or to complement Cook in a shared backfield.

It feels like if Singletary was going to be the guy in Buffalo, he would have taken full control of the job and not left any doubt that the Bills should re-sign him in the offseason.

David Montgomery

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JANUARY 08: David Montgomery #32 of the Chicago Bears runs with the ball in the first half of a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field on January 08, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

The running back free-agent market is fascinating if the Bills decide to get involved.

Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Miles Sanders, Tony Pollard, David Montgomery, Jamaal Williams and Damien Harris are among the free-agent group at the position.

Montgomery is a proven No. 1 running back, but his usage should scare the Bills away from a free-agent contract.

The Iowa State product carried the ball over 200 times in each of his four seasons with the Chicago Bears. He had 242 and 247 rushes in his first two NFL seasons, respectively.

At some point, Montgomery's body will feel the effects of four straight years with a heavy workload, and the Bills can't allow that to occur in the middle of a potentially big contract.

Montgomery's situation is the perfect example of the conundrum that NFL teams face on the running back market.

On one hand, Montgomery proved his worth as a top ball carrier, and he could thrive in Buffalo's system, but there have to be concerns about when his body will wear down.

Buffalo's ideal fit might be Pollard, who is one of the best pass-catching running backs in the NFL. His dual-threat ability out of the backfield could be a huge asset for Allen to work with, and his signing would give Cook time to develop into a solid ball carrier of his own because of the pass-game workload.

Damien Harris

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ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 08: Damien Harris #37 of the New England Patriots runs the ball during the first quarter against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on January 08, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)

Some Buffalo fans could see the signing of a former New England Patriots running back as an opportunity to weaken a divisional opponent.

You could argue that Harris would cut into the Patriots' running back production, but the counter to that is Rhamondre Stevenson was the top ball carrier for them in 2022 and Kevin Harris could benefit from Damien Harris' departure.

The four-year pro would likely be cheaper on the free-agent market compared to the top-tier running backs, but there are good reasons for that.

Harris had a breakout season with 15 touchdowns in 2021, but he followed that up with an injury-riddled 462-yard campaign in which he played in 11 games and had just three touchdowns.

The same potential concerns the Bills would have about Montgomery could already be playing out in Harris' situation with a lighter usage rate.

Harris does not come with the same level of consistency as other free-agent running backs, and that should stand out to the Bills as they evaluate their backfield options across free agency.