Bradley Chubb had a box on his free-agent checklist that was a priority in signing with a new team. The Bills and GM Brandon Beane built the rest of their pitch around it.
“Try to go to a team that I could have a chance of winning the big game,” Chubb said after a spring practice.
Buffalo checked the box. As did the man now calling the defense.
Chubb has been chasing quarterbacks since the Denver Broncos took him fifth overall in the 2018 NFL Draft — two picks before Buffalo selected Josh Allen. John Elway famously chose the pass-rusher over the QB and later regretted not picking Allen. Eight years later, Chubb is in Allen’s locker room trying to win the Lombardi Trophy together.
“All the things I was talking to Coach [Joe] Brady about, Coach [Jim] Leonhard about, was about winning… I felt like it was a perfect match,” he shared.
Jim Leonhard’s new 3-4 hybrid is the exact Vance Joseph–lineage defense Chubb cut his teeth in as a Denver rookie — when he posted a career-high 12 sacks and won Defensive Rookie of the Year.
“He was drafted as a first-rounder for this defense,” Leonhard said. “He’s played in very similar defenses the majority of his career.”
Chubb flexed opposite Greg Rousseau (86.4 PFF grade, 8th of 115 edges in 2025) on a veteran deal projects well.
He has cleared double-digit sacks only once since that Denver rookie year. A torn ACL wiped out his entire 2024 season. He answered with 8.5 sacks for Miami in 2025 — enough to show the burst is intact at 29.
“Having to see the highs and the lows of this game just makes me appreciate it even more,” Chubb shared. “Cherish every moment, every practice, every lift, because you never know when it’s going to be the last one.”
And with only one playoff game over eight NFL seasons, the veteran defensive end is ready for more.
“Those windows open and they close really fast, so I want to be on the positive side of it now.”
That window is open in Buffalo. Allen is in his prime with a recent MVP award, a new Highmark Stadium set to open in NFL Week 2, a refreshed coaching staff and roster, and Chubb as the veteran edge insurance and threat to command coverage and form a formidable duo with Rousseau.
The player Elway took has a second chance to make good on the pick in a Joseph/Leonhard scheme even if it unlocks just 75% of his Denver rookie tape and 8-to-10 sacks across 14 games. Paired with Rousseau, Michael Hoecht, and rookie Landon Jackson, Buffalo finally has a January-grade front four. That’s the version that helps to keep that window open.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bradley Chubb re-opens Broncos window with Bills
Reporting by David Benjamin De Cristofaro, Bills Wire / Bills Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By David Benjamin De Cristofaro, Bills Wire | USA TODAY Network
