ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. \u2014 Bradley Chubb had one thing on his mind when he was choosing a new team as a free agent this offseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cTry to go to a team that I could have a chance of winning the big game,\u201d he said after a spring practice session at the club\u2019s facility in Orchard Park.<\/p>\n
Chubb found shared spirit in Buffalo. So, when it came time to decide, signing with the Bills \u2014 a team oh so close, but still chasing that elusive first Super Bowl championship \u2014 just made sense.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the things I was talking to Coach [Joe] Brady about, Coach [Jim] Leonhard about, was about winning,\u201d Chubb said. \u201cThey wanted to get over that hump, and I wanted to get over that hump as well, so I felt like it was a perfect match.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chubb has been chasing down quarterbacks since he was the fifth overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. In a somewhat famous story, Broncos executive and Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway chose Chubb over quarterback Josh Allen, who the Bills selected two picks later.<\/p>\n
Chubb had a career high 12 sacks his rookie season in Denver and earned Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.<\/p>\n
It just so happens new defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard is installing the same type of system this year in Buffalo.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was drafted as a first rounder for this defense, right? And he\u2019s played in very similar defenses the majority of his career,\u201d Leonhard said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the truth, honestly,\u201d Chubb said. \u201cWhen I got drafted to the Vance Joseph system and [Leonhard] comes from that system as well. So, hopefully I can bring the best version of myself to the table and do what I did that rookie year in Denver.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he\u2019s only reached double-digit sacks one other season. Multiple major injuries have gotten in the way, never allowing him to fully reach the potential Elway saw in 2018.<\/p>\n
Chubb\u2019s faith and family have pushed him through dark days.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving to see the highs and the lows of this game just makes me appreciate it even more,\u201d Chubb said. \u201cSo that\u2019s what kind of keeps me going now and understanding that it can be taken away from me like that. That\u2019s another thing I try to pour into guys too: how easily it can be taken away from you and to cherish every moment, every practice, every lift, everything, because you never know when it\u2019s going to be the last one.\u201d<\/p>\n
After missing the entire 2024 season due to a torn ACL, Chubb bounced back last year in Miami with 8.5 sacks. Feeling strong physically and mentally, he wants to be one of the missing pieces to bring a Lombardi Trophy to Western New York.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been in the NFL eight seasons, going on nine,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been to the playoffs one time. One game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s guys who\u2019ve come into the league and that\u2019s all they know is the playoffs. Those windows open and they close really fast so I want to be on the positive side of it now.\u201d<\/p>\n
A positive mindset to be a winner \u2014 no matter the obstacles in front of him \u2014 or the team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. \u2014 Bradley Chubb had one thing on his mind when he was choosing a new…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82815,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[131],"tags":[18546,18548,18547,18281,18549,240,1202,14560,307,11706],"class_list":["post-82814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chubb","tag-andy-young","tag-app-sports","tag-buffalo","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-central-ny","tag-chubb","tag-news","tag-rochester","tag-sports","tag-vod"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}