Buffalo Bills trade defensive tackle Marcell Dareus to Jacksonville Jaguars

The Buffalo Bills have traded defensive tackle Marcell Dareus to the Jacksonville Jaguars. ESPN reporter Adam Schefter was the first to report the news. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport has reported that the compensation is a sixth round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Earlier this week, Schefter made a “just-for-fun” prediction that Dareus would be traded for a fifth round pick, to the Dallas Cowboys. We were not fans of that deal, but the Bills decided that any compensation was good enough for them.

This season, Dareus has not had a large impact on the football field, with the team asking him to take on more blocks. He was limited by an ankle injury earlier in the season, played in five games with three starts, and has four solo tackles and one sack.

Dareus joins a loaded Jaguars defense that already ranks as the number one pass defense in the NFL, but is also the worst rushing defense in the NFL. Coming off a 27-0 beatdown of the Indianapolis Colts, they have accumulated 33 sacks, ten interceptions, and nine forced fumbles in seven games this year. They’re only allowing 4.2 yards per pass attempt, but against the run they’re allowing 5.2 yards per carry. Dareus will get a chance to clog up running lanes with a new team, and maybe join a scheme that would turn him loose to rush the passer when surrounded by talented front seven players.

For the Bills, this is an admission that Dareus wasn’t a great schematic fit and that the new Bills regime didn’t like the way his off-field baggage clashed with the culture they wanted to build. It’s also another strong lean in the direction of new management’s vision. The Bills accelerated $14 million of Dareus’s upcoming cap hit by trading him, but end up saving some money in the process, according to ESPN beat reporter Mike Rodak.

Do you trust the process?