Nyheim Hines is with the Browns

[HOUSE]

No criminal record...

Waive

[billybrew1]

6 hours ago, Utah John said:

I'm trying to find out what happened with Nyheim Hines after he had that terrible jet ski accident.  All I can find out about Hines is that the Bills released him this spring and he signed soon after that with the Browns.  What do the Browns know that the Bills don't?  Is Hines ready to play football again, and if so why didn't the Bills keep him?

 

The Bills didn't use Hines much in 2022 except to return kickoffs, and he did very well at that, but with the new kickoff rules maybe a KO returner is just not a high priority.  As for being a running back, maybe the Bills didn't keep him because they felt (like most teams) that running backs are pretty disposable and they didn't want to try to squeeze his veteran's contract under the salary cap.  So maybe this all just comes down to money, and Hines wasn't worth the difference in salary he represented.  

 

Does anyone have any other news on him?  He seems like a great guy and it's just a shame that he's having to resurrect his career this way.

Hines is a true one-dimensional RB. They have far less value than a three dimensional RB…. I think the Bills have found their three dimensional RB in Ray Davis. We’ll see….

When we had Hines the D knew a pass to Hines was coming and half the team tackled him for a gain of one.

[3rdand12]

4 hours ago, NoSaint said:

truly a puzzling spot. 
 

and we are all here because we like to figure out the why/how hit this one was a real struggle. 
 

he had the talent to be on the field

 

are we to believe he couldn’t pick up a few packages a week?

 

or did the coaching staff believe anything short of the playbook being 100% wide open with him on the field was unacceptable? 

 

 

but Dorsey is in Cleveland which makes it all the stranger

Oh yea  connect those dots

whytf would Nyheim want to play for a guy who clearly underutilized him ?

I felt it was a shame , considering his skill set , how Bills used /not  him

 

[Billy Claude]

2 hours ago, JohnNord said:

I think you’re putting too much stock in Yeldon, Breida and Duke.  There were low cost veterans, slated to be RB3 (at best) at the tail end of their career that did little after their stint in Buffalo.   

 

As far as Hines, IMO it’s an indictment more on Ken Dorsey more than it is on Brandon Beane.  

 

You are most probably right about Matt Breida and Duke Johnson -- they were definitely way past their prime and they were all meant to be third down backs (including Hines).

 

However, TJ Yeldon was only 25 when he signed with the Bills and had 55 receptions for the Jaguars the previous season.  Once he joined the Bills, he disappeared.  He was only active for 6 games and had 13 receptions his first year with the Bills.   Instead they chose to run Frank Gore into the line at a blistering 3.6 yards per carry.  I never understood why Yeldon wasn't given more of an opportunity.

 

Beane also tried to sign JD McKissic for a decent amount of money.  The Bills were lucky the deal fell through.  I doubt he would have been used anymore than Hines was.

 

 

Edited July 9 by Billy Claude

[BarleyNY]

4 hours ago, JohnNord said:

I think you’re putting too much stock in Yeldon, Breida and Duke.  There were low cost veterans, slated to be RB3 (at best) at the tail end of their career that did little after their stint in Buffalo.   

 

As far as Hines, IMO it’s an indictment more on Ken Dorsey more than it is on Brandon Beane.  
 

Dorsey offenses struggled to get players involved that weren’t named Stefon Diggs and on the rare occasion, Gabe Davis.   Look at how Hines was used in the offense.  They couldn’t get him on the field.  
 

And it’s not just Hines… Dorsey never figured out how to use 2 TE, could get much production out of the slot WR and couldn’t get James Cook (one of the best receiving backs in his draft class) the ball in the passing game.  

 

As @NoSaint mentioned, Dorsey is the OC in Cleveland. Hines was brought in because he wanted him. It’ll be interesting to see if/how he’s utilized there. As for 2 TE sets, Dorsey doesn’t use them very often. Stefanski and the analytics crowd loves 12 personnel so the prevailing opinion in Cleveland is that Dorsey was selected as OC to help the Browns move to more 11. Njoku is pretty much the only TE of any note they have on the team so that fits the narrative. They’ve had a good TE2 and decent TE3 in the past. Not this year. 

Edited July 10 by BarleyNY

[billsfan89]

2 hours ago, billybrew1 said:

Hines is a true one-dimensional RB. They have far less value than a three dimensional RB…. I think the Bills have found their three dimensional RB in Ray Davis. We’ll see….

When we had Hines the D knew a pass to Hines was coming and half the team tackled him for a gain of one.

 

Hines was a very good returner and a very good niche "scat back" but the Bills were able to find a good returner (hopefully) with Hardy in the draft and Ty Johnson I think is a much better RB. Johnson isn't as fast but he's a very good receiver, has some speed, and has more power ability. Johnson overall is a more well rounded back even if he is not as fast as Hines. With Davis they have a very good all around back who I think just really complements what Cook and Johnson do. 

[Sierra Foothills]

13 hours ago, Utah John said:

I'm trying to find out what happened with Nyheim Hines after he had that terrible jet ski accident.  All I can find out about Hines is that the Bills released him this spring and he signed soon after that with the Browns.  What do the Browns know that the Bills don't?  Is Hines ready to play football again, and if so why didn't the Bills keep him?

 

The Bills didn't use Hines much in 2022 except to return kickoffs, and he did very well at that, but with the new kickoff rules maybe a KO returner is just not a high priority.  As for being a running back, maybe the Bills didn't keep him because they felt (like most teams) that running backs are pretty disposable and they didn't want to try to squeeze his veteran's contract under the salary cap.  So maybe this all just comes down to money, and Hines wasn't worth the difference in salary he represented.  

 

Does anyone have any other news on him?  He seems like a great guy and it's just a shame that he's having to resurrect his career this way.

 

You have more question marks than The Riddler's wardrobe.

 

12 hours ago, Rigotz said:

Couple of explanations:

1) The jet ski accident was actually somehow an ACL tear. He had no shot of playing at any point last year, so the Bills released him on injury settlement.

2) He had a bad experience in Buffalo. They under-used him and the Offensive Coordinator who brought him in is no longer the Offensive Coordinator.

3) His contract with the Browns is $1.1M with a 500K signing bonus and 350K roster bonus. That indicates that they might keep him, but it's not heavily guaranteed.

 

The guy was awesome. Had the right attitude. Was just under-used and had awful luck.

I don't blame him for hitting the open market and getting the best offer he could get. I'm rooting for him.

 

Sometimes as they say, "It just didn't work out."

 

[Mr. WEO]

He had one decent game in 2022. 

[Scott7975]

22 hours ago, Logic said:

Hines' time in Buffalo was frustrating to me.

All this talk of wanting a dynamic receiving back for Josh Allen. Beane goes out and trades for Nyheim Hines, who everyone universally agreed was underused in Indy.

The Bills then proceed to just absolutely not use him whatsoever on offense. Just let him sit on the shelf collecting dust. He actually gets used LESS on offense in Buffalo than he was in Indy. We hear that it's just taking time for him to learn the playbook. Meanwhile, guys like CMC get traded to a new team and are on the field a bunch the very next week.

And all of this happened AFTER the Bills had already spent a 2nd round pick on James Cook in that year's draft to fill that receiving back role.

Obviously, he had the memorable kick return touchdowns game. That was about it for his contributions as a Buffalo Bill, though. Overall, the way Hines' acquisition and time here was handled still seems like a maddening disconnect between GM and coach/OC. 

In any case, what happened thereafter with the Jetski was an awful thing. Hopefully Hines can rebound in Cleveland.

 

Pretty much agree with this. The guy was a cap casualty but he was totally underutilized.  Its not like he is some elite star and we wont be ok without him, but I feel like he would have been a nice weapon for us had they used him.  The guy has speed and agility. Something our offense was definitely lacking and may still be.  The few times they tried to use him, Allen threw bad passes but Hines would have had big gains on them had they connected.

[Logic]

22 minutes ago, Scott7975 said:

 

Pretty much agree with this. The guy was a cap casualty but he was totally underutilized.  Its not like he is some elite star and we wont be ok without him, but I feel like he would have been a nice weapon for us had they used him.  The guy has speed and agility. Something our offense was definitely lacking and may still be.  The few times they tried to use him, Allen threw bad passes but Hines would have had big gains on them had they connected.

Yep. TBH, I have been screaming for the Bills to utilize their running backs more creatively in the passing game for years now. 

I don't just mean on swing passes and screens. I mean splitting them out wide or into the slot, isolating them on linebackers, and making them a featured part of the Bills offense, rather than just a checkdown or afterthought. From CJ Spiller to TJ Yeldon to Duke Johnson to Nyheim Hines and now to James Cook (and soon to Ray Davis), we've had these guys that are absolutely mismatches in the passing game that we just REFUSE to use in creative ways. 

Bills fans, of all people, know first hand how lethal a dual threat running back can be and how much it can add to the offense. Ask any Bills fan over 40 who the real engine of the K-Gun offense was more often than not.

Here's hoping Brady finally meaningfully incorporates running back involvement in the passing game in creative and diverse ways.  

[NoSaint]

18 hours ago, billybrew1 said:

Hines is a true one-dimensional RB. They have far less value than a three dimensional RB…. I think the Bills have found their three dimensional RB in Ray Davis. We’ll see….

When we had Hines the D knew a pass to Hines was coming and half the team tackled him for a gain of one.

in 9 games he had 6 carries and 5 catches. I’m not sure you can put any stock into any outcomes of his touches 

 

though he did average 10 yards a catch in those 5 plays so I’m particularly stumped by the narrative you gave

Edited July 10 by NoSaint

[JohnNord]

On 7/9/2024 at 6:41 PM, Billy Claude said:

 

You are most probably right about Matt Breida and Duke Johnson -- they were definitely way past their prime and they were all meant to be third down backs (including Hines).

 

However, TJ Yeldon was only 25 when he signed with the Bills and had 55 receptions for the Jaguars the previous season.  Once he joined the Bills, he disappeared.  He was only active for 6 games and had 13 receptions his first year with the Bills.   Instead they chose to run Frank Gore into the line at a blistering 3.6 yards per carry.  I never understood why Yeldon wasn't given more of an opportunity.

 

Beane also tried to sign JD McKissic for a decent amount of money.  The Bills were lucky the deal fell through.  I doubt he would have been used anymore than Hines was.

 

 

Yeah this is true.  Frank Gore usage was maddening.   It reminds me a bit of Latavius Murray this season.  He had a little juice early but was done by the end of the season.  
 

At the same time, I’m not sure how much Yeldon really had by the time her arrived in Buffalo.  He never played another NFL down by the time his contract was over, so I feel that’s a pretty good indicator that he was washed.   That’s why I put Yeldon the same group as the other vets on their last legs.  
 

Hines on the other hand was a different story.  He had the talent and ability, they just couldn’t find a way to get him involved 

[Billy Claude]

11 hours ago, JohnNord said:

 

At the same time, I’m not sure how much Yeldon really had by the time her arrived in Buffalo.  He never played another NFL down by the time his contract was over, so I feel that’s a pretty good indicator that he was washed.   That’s why I put Yeldon the same group as the other vets on their last legs.  
 

Hines on the other hand was a different story.  He had the talent and ability, they just couldn’t find a way to get him involved 

 

My argument against Yeldon being washed is that Beane brought him back for a second season.  If Beane thought he was washed he would have just cut him and taken the small cap hit.

 

Also, Yeldon was reasonably productive in his first season when he got a chance; 150 snaps, 13 receptions on 15 targets at 9.5 yards per catch and 17 carries for 63 yards for 3.7 ypc.  Obviously the ypc was not great but he was there as a pass receiving back and 3.7 was still better than Frank Gore.  I do seem to remember a fumble early in that first season that led him to being inactive for three or four games.

Edited July 12 by Billy Claude

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

On 7/9/2024 at 11:18 AM, Utah John said:

All I can find out about Hines is that the Bills released him this spring and he signed soon after that with the Browns. 

Refused to sign anywhere where there wasn't a large body of water close by.  Going to get a handle on this watercraft stuff. 

[JP51]

I wish him luck except against us... his two returns for TDs against the Pats after the Damar incident were electric. Those two plays alone situationally will have a place in Bills lore for a long time. 

[Beast]

Much luck to him. Wish he didn’t get hurt while he was here.