Peeking Ahead to Buffalo Bills' Training Camp Battles: Running Back
Now that the Buffalo Bills have followed through on drafting another running back, as we at Bills' Central believed they would, it makes for a fascinating training-camp dynamic.
Thus, the first in our series previewing the most compelling roster battles begins here.
Here are the principal players:
- Devin Singletary
- Duke Johnson
- James Cook
- Zack Moss
- Taiwan Jones
- Reggie Gilliam (fullback)
Singletary emerged as the clear preferred favorite by the end of last season after a bit of experimentation involving Moss and the departed Matt Breida. That may make him the frontrunner to be the No. 1 back this season, but certainly not a lock after the addition of Cook.
Johnson, a veteran who excels in the passing game, and Cook are the newcomers to this group.
There is a complicated history here that needs some explaining.
Though Moss has never started a regular-season game in either of his two seasons, he had ostensibly moved ahead of Singletary as the lead back by the end of the 2020 season, getting more snaps and carries and producing favorable results.
He then made his only career start in the Bills' first playoff game against Indianapolis but suffered a season-ending injury in that game that forced the Bills to turn back to Singletary.
When the Bills picked up Breida last offseason, it set the stage for an interesting battle then too that wasn't really settled until midseason, when it became clear that Singletary's aggressive offseason approach to conditioning and improving his ball security had paid off.
He finished with career highs of 188 attempts, 870 yards, seven rushing TDs and 40 receptions. Though that was offset by a career-high five fumbles, three came in the first two weeks and none came after their Week 10 blowout victory over the New York Jets.
Singletary had become a trusted starter again, albeit in an offense that didn't have their running backs get many carries.
The transition to 2022 began when the Bills let Breida go and reached a verbal agreement with veteran passing-game specialist J.D. McKissic, a free agent who has nearly as many receptions (193) as carries (221) in his six-year career and caught 80 passes for Washington in 2020.
When McKissic reneged on the agreement and re-signed with the Commanders, Bills general manager landed a veteran free agent with similar qualifications in Johnson.
That brings us to what the Bills are looking at this year, in which special-teams ace Jones, who will turn 34 in July, certainly doesn't factor into the competition. He has never even carried the ball for the Bills since joining them for his second stint in 2020.
Gilliam likely doesn't factor in, either. The Bills kept four backs on the roster in addition to Gilliam last season and probably will do the same this year.
Though Cook is viewed by many as a change-of-pace back who can complement Singletary and add an extra dimension to the passing game, he did average 6.4 yards on a career-high 113 rushing attempts as a senior at Georgia last year.
What's more, once he signs his rookie contract, he and Moss will be the only backs heading into 2022 that aren't on the final year of their deals.
That's part of what makes the position so fun to watch this summer.
Can Cook prove himself between the tackles? Will Moss come back as strong in his third season as Singletary did in his third? Can Singletary follow up on last season with the best of his career in a contract year?
And how will Johnson, who has had a fairly significant injury history and last season played only five games after being on the street for part of it, fit in?
Lots of moving pieces here.
So let the competition begin.
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Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.
