RB Market Thinning Quickly

Friday turned out to be an extremely busy day in the running back field. Following yesterday's trade of running back Willis McGahee, several teams are now moving quickly to secure themselves new runners. Oakland, the Giants and Detroit have all grabbed new runners today - are the Bills soon to follow?

Rhodes, Droughns, Duckett Relocate
Oakland made the first splash of the day by signing Dominic Rhodes to a 2-year, $7.5 million deal. Rhodes goes from the best team in the league (Indy) to the worst, and will likely split time with LaMont Jordan in the Raiders' backfield. Rhodes is one of two free agents who had previously visited the Bills.

After signing Jamal Lewis on Wednesday, the Browns parted ways with former starter Reuben Droughns, trading him to the New York Giants for reserve wideout Tim Carter. Droughns is expected to work in a specialized role behind projected starter Brandon Jacobs.

Finally, this evening it has been reported that the Detroit Lions have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with bruiser T.J. Duckett (above, right). The report, broken by Adam Schefter, appears on Pro Football Talk:

DUCKETT TO DETROIT

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that running back T.J. Duckett has agreed to terms with the Detroit Lions.

Duckett will sign a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Lions.

The maneuver gives the Lions three starting-caliber tailbacks -- Duckett, Tatum Bell, and Kevin Jones. We've previously heard that Bell, who was acquired recently from the Broncos as part of the Dre' Bly trade, is a candidate to be traded again.

Duckett did the deal with Detroit after visiting the Seahawks.

This report is interesting when taken in the context of the Bills. Why? Because the Lions were the biggest player for current Bills interest, running back Chris Brown (pictured below).

Brown to Buffalo: Coming Soon?
Of the nine teams that were in the market for a running back just 36 hours ago, five of them have already made moves at the position: Baltimore (McGahee), Cleveland (Lewis), NY Giants (Droughns), Oakland (Rhodes) and Detroit (Duckett). Of the four remaining teams (Buffalo, Green Bay, Philadelphia and Tennessee), the Bills and Packers present the best opportunities for a starting job.

Brown has already toured Buffalo - he did so earlier this week. The Packers have been rumored to be interested, and the Titans would like to bring him back to compete with LenDale White as well. Brown is easily the most popular runner remaining on the market, and could land with a team in the next day or two.

At this point, I would put the Bills and the Titans as the leaders to sign Brown, with the Packers a darkhorse candidate if they enter the bidding late (I still think that Green Bay would really like to acquire Tatum Bell from Detroit). Philadelphia has also expressed keen interest in Brown, but he would play second fiddle to Brian Westbrook there.

My prediction: I would love for the Bills to sign Brown - he would give the team a proven commodity in the backfield, even with an injury history. He, along with another back or two, could be a staple in the Bills' offense. I've just got a hunch that he'll end up re-signing with the Titans, however - I'm trying not to get too excited at the prospect of seeing him in a Bills uniform. But I've got my fingers crossed - I'd like to see the Bills address their RB situation sooner rather than later.

Signings Update
Here is the list of the latest player movement, all occuring over the past two days:

- Bethel Johnson, WR, Philadelphia (Minnesota) - 1 year deal
- Willis McGahee, RB, Baltimore (Buffalo) - Trade
- Randy McMichael, TE, St. Louis (Miami) - 3 year deal
- Terrence Holt, FS, Arizona (Detroit) - 5 year deal
- Todd Johnson, SS, St. Louis (Chicago) - 4 year deal
- Jordan Black, OT, Houston (Kansas City) - 2 year deal
- Cameron Worrell, S, Miami (Chicago) - 2 year deal
- Ross Tucker, OG, Washington (Cleveland) - 2 year deal
- Deon Grant, FS, Seattle (Jacksonville) - 6 year deal
- Dominic Rhodes, RB, Oakland (Indianapolis) - 2 year deal
- Reuben Droughns, RB, NY Giants (Cleveland) - Trade
- Tim Carter, WR, Cleveland (NY Giants) - Trade
- Justin Griffith, FB, Oakland (Baltimore) - TBA
- Fred Wakefield, TE, Oakland (Arizona) - TBA
- Tony Stewart, TE, Oakland (Cincinnati) - TBA
- T.J. Duckett, RB, Detroit (Washington) - 1 year deal
- Brian Russell, S, Seattle (Cleveland) - TBA