Buffalo Bills Release Fred Jackson

In a somewhat surprising move, the Buffalo Bills have reportedly cut longtime running back Fred Jackson. The 34-year old veteran had been a lifelong Buffalo Bill in the NFL since being signed from the National Indoor Football League in 2006.

During his time in the NIFL, Jackson played for Sioux City and Rhein. The move is a bit of a surprise, despite Jackson not getting any preseason carries until the other night. On his first play of the 2015 preseason, Jackson excited the fan base with an electrifying run.

In his last nine years as a Bill, Jackson over 5,600 rushing yards and 2,640 receiving yards. He sits third all-time on the Bills rushing yards list and fourth on their rushing touchdown list.

The team acquired LeSean McCoy for Kiko Alonso in the offseason, making Jackson’s future with the team somewhat murky. The team entered camp with the impression of a dual-running back system to give Jackson and McCoy enough rest and prevent injury. He team also has former Eagle Bryce Brown, Anthony Dixon, and drafted Karlos Williams out of Florida State.

Williams is an interesting puzzle piece for the Bills. After falling to the fifth round of the 2015 draft due to off the field concerns, he has proven him self in Bills camp. He ran a 4.48 at the combine after he finished his final college season with 689 yards on 150 carries with 11 touchdowns. Those stats came as a backup to Dalvin Cook.

As for Fred Jackson, the suitors will be plenty. He is a native of Dallas/Fort Worth, so you know he’ll be interested in returning home to the Cowboys. With all their questions at running back, Dallas would be crazy not to give Jackson a call. Other teams needing solid veteran depth at the running back are the Cleveland Browns and possibly the Houston Texans. With Arian Foster out for a considerable amount of time, having Jackson behind Alfred Blue could be a jump-start to the Texans offense.

Next: Amari Cooper Impresses in Third Preseason Game