Bills trade for Nyheim Hines and Dean Marlowe

It took the Bills until the final moments of the 4 p.m. trade deadline to make a move on Tuesday, but it was worth the wait.

They traded running back Zack Moss and a sixth-round draft pick (could turn into a fifth) to the Colts in exchange for running back Nyheim Hines. Then minutes later they sent a seventh rounder to the Falcons for safety Dean Marlowe, who was with the Bills from 2018 to 2020.

The Bills, already Super Bowl favorites, didn’t necessarily need to make a splashy move at the deadline. But, they managed to add two players that can provide depth where they were lacking.

Hines joins Devin Singletary and James Cook in the Bills backfield and provides punt return ability and another option in the passing game.

The Bills tried signing J.D. McKissic this past offseason to add a pass catcher to the backfield, and when that plan fell through, they drafted James Cook. But, a struggling Zack Moss was all the reason Brandon Beane needed to add another reliable option to the running back room.

When your goal for the season is a Super Bowl, it’s always an added benefit to have depth at all positions. And, giving Josh Allen more weapons to throw to is always a good thing.

Since he entered the league in 2018, Hines is top-five in receiving yards by a running back.

According to PFF, Hines currently has the sixth-highest receiving grade among all running backs (74.7).

The Bills were just starting to get James Cook acclimated into the offense, so the timing seems a bit odd at first glance, but Singletary’s contract is up after this season and the Bills will have some decisions to make. In the meantime, they’ll have three capable running backs to make a Super Bowl run.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Bills brought back an old friend in safety Dean Marlowe.

From 2018 to 2020, Marlowe appeared in 26 games for the Bills and started in 7 of them. Now two years later, after stints with the Lions and Falcons, Marlowe rejoins the Bills as Micah Hyde is out for the year and Jordan Poyer is dealing with an elbow injury.

This was a wise, cost-effective move by Brandon Beane to bring in someone familiar with the system amidst the injuries on the back end.

The Bills made a few more roster moves on Tuesday. They also activated CB Tre’Davious White from the PUP list, released WR Isaiah Hodgins and DT Brandin Bryant, released CB Jordan Miller from the practice squad, and reinstated CB Xavier Rhodes to the practice squad.