Nyheim Hines headed to Browns on one-year deal, per report

Former Buffalo Bills running back Nyheim Hines is headed to the other end of Lake Erie to play for the Cleveland Browns.

ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter was the first to share the news that Hines will sign “a one-year deal worth up to $3.5 million with the Browns, per sources.”

Hines originally landed in Orchard Park, NY via a trade deadline-deal general manager Brandon Beane pulled off with the Indianapolis Colts. Beane sent running back Zack Moss and a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Colts in exchange for Hines. With his arrival mid-season, it appeared as though the team struggled to fully integrate him into the offensive plans. As a result, the dual-threat speedster finished with -3 yards on six carries and one fumble, adding five catches (on nine targets) for 53 yards and one touchdown.

(stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference)

What Hines did exceptionally well at times was bring juice to the team’s kickoff return game. Most famously, Hines took two kickoffs back to the house Buffalo’s 2022 Week 18 win against the New England Patriots. His first score came via a 96-yard return on the game’s open kickoff, marking the team’s first play (and score) since safety Damar Hamlin suffered a sudden on-field cardiac arrest event against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 17. With the battered Patriots somehow holding a 17-13 lead late into the third quarter, Hines fielded the New England kickoff in his own end zone, then raced 101 yards to pay dirt once again to put the Bills ahead for good.

Hines was never able to see the field during his second season with Buffalo, due to an offseason jet ski injury that led to a devastating knee injury — which robbed him of the entire 2023 NFL season. So, it was ultimately one-and-done for Hines with the Bills, and fans wondering “what could have been, if only” following his release last week. Now, Nyheim Hines will try to prove his knee is good to go, playing the 2024 NFL season with the Browns.