A familiar face returns to try and break into the roster during his second go-round with Buffalo
During the 2024 NFL season, the Buffalo Bills leaned on their rushing attack more than they had at any point during quarterback Josh Allen’s career. Or, at least it felt that way given the success that the team had on the ground. Under offensive coordinator Joe Brady, the Bills have featured a dangerous, balanced attack where the ground attack is a tremendous part of the team’s overall success.
This isn’t 1984, though, so we shouldn’t expect one running back to dominate the touches and the snaps in the backfield. The Bills deploy three running backs regularly in games, and all three of those players are back on the current roster this season. In fact, every running back on the current roster has been with the team in some capacity prior to this season.
Since all of the players at the running back position are returners, should we expect the depth chart to change this season? In today’s installment of our “90 players in 90 days” series, we discuss a player who certainly hopes that change is on the menu this year.
Name: Darrynton Evans
Number: 21
Position: RB
Height/Weight: 5’10”, 203 pounds
Age: 26 (27 on 7/9/2026)
Experience/Draft: 6; selected by the Tennessee Titans in the third round (No. 93 overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft
College: Appalachian State
Acquired: Re-signed with the Bills on 3/13/2025
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Evans signed a one-year contract with Buffalo this spring. That deal is worth $1.21 million. Evans’ cap hit for the year is $1.07 million if he makes the 53-man roster. If he’s released prior to Week One, Buffalo will carry a dead-cap charge of $25,000 for the year.
2024 Recap: Evans began his second stint with the Bills in January 2024, signing a reserve/future deal with the club after their Divisional Round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. He spent the offseason with Buffalo and played plenty during the preseason. In three games, including one start, he carried the ball 13 times for 63 rushing yards, adding three receptions for 28 yards and a touchdown to his ledger. He was placed on injured reserve on August 27, meaning his season with Buffalo was over before it could begin. The Bills released him from IR on October 29 when he was healthy, and he signed with the Chicago Bears’ for the third time on November 6 when he joined their practice squad. He was elevated from the practice squad in Week 14 and Week 15 before finally signing to Chicago’s active roster on December 21. He only carried the ball three times, gaining three yards in his first game with the Bears. Otherwise, he appeared solely on special teams, playing 33 special teams snaps over the course of the final five games of the season.
Positional outlook: Evans is one of five running backs on the current roster. James Cook, Ray Davis Jr., Ty Johnson, and Frank Gore Jr. are the others. Reggie Gilliam is the team’s lone fullback.
2025 Offseason: Evans is healthy and participating in offseason work to date.
2025 Season outlook: While Evans has elite speed—he was clocked at 4.41 seconds in the forty-yard dash at the 202 NFL Scouting Combine—that speed has never turned into a solid shot at playing time in the NFL. Evans was solid last preseason, but after his injury, the Bills elected to keep Frank Gore Jr. on the practice squad. The son of the future NFL Hall of Fame running back also had a strong 2024 preseason, so it’s possible they would have chosen to keep him regardless.
Evans is likely the odd man out here given Cook’s ascendance to elite status and the solid roles played by both Johnson and Davis last season. If someone is injured, or if Cook decides that he isn’t going to play until Buffalo gives him a contract extension, there’s an outside chance that Evans would see time thanks to his explosiveness. However, it’s likely that he’s really battling with Gore Jr. for a spot on the practice squad more than he is battling for a spot on the 53-man roster.