Bills HC Sean McDermott Reveals WR Battle Is Still Wide Open

To the untrained eye, the Buffalo Bills may appear set at wide receiver, but head coach Sean McDermott disagrees.

The veteran Bills coach revealed the team is still keeping open its depth wideout spots open amid since they are trying to surround reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen with the most talent possible.

The Bills returned their top-two receivers, Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir, and signed Joshua Palmer and Elijah Moore in free agency. They have veteran journeymen K.J. Hamler, Laviska Shenault Jr. and Curtis Samuel.

Yet, the Bills depth chart is far from set, per McDermott.

What Did Sean McDermott Say About the Bills’ Wide Receivers?

McDermott effectively named Coleman, Shakir and Palmer as the team’s top-three wideouts, since they are listed as the 11-personnel starters on Buffalo’s depth chart.

But beyond that, things are up for grabs.

“We’ve got a number of guys, and it’s really trying to figure out – I think we got a pretty good feel for [Nos.] 1, 2, 3, but who is 4, 5, 6?” McDermott said before the Bills practiced Tuesday. “Once you get kind of after that third person there, it’s trying to figure out who the rest of them are and how they can help us, not only on offense but on special teams.”

Mucking things up further is the fact many of the Bills wideouts have not played special teams, outside of Shenault and second-year fan favorite Tyrell Shavers.

Moore, likely the favorite to be the WR4, has just 18 special-teams snaps in five NFL seasons. Samuel has not taken a special-teams snap since Allen’s rookie season, 2018. Shenault has primarily been a kick returner.

Yet, throw in the fact the Bills are bringing in Gabe Davis this week to potentially bolster their wideout corps, and things may get even more competitive for their wideouts. Davis played more than 50 percent of Buffalo’s offensive snap counts in each of his four years with the Bills.

“[We are] always trying to maneuver,” McDermott said, “figure out the puzzle of the roster this time of year and the numbers and how it’s going to affect special teams and vice versa.”

What Bills Receivers Will Make The Team?

Cuts are coming, and the top-four receivers — Shakir, Coleman, Palmer and Moore — are assumed as locks. But beyond those four, things are hardly certain.

Shavers is something of a wild card, since the undrafted free agent still has as many touchdowns (1) as receptions in the NFL and is having a solid preseason with seven catches for 99 yards in two games.

On the contrary, Samuel has had a hard time getting on the field, since he is dealing with a hamstring injury, and the Bills are reportedly growing frustrated with his injuries.  Yet, Samuel’s $15 million in guaranteed money clouds a decision to hang onto him, since this is the first year of a three-year extension he signed before 2024.

McDermott assessed the difficulty of making roster decisions align with business decisions and making predictions.

“You try and look at everything through the truth window and say ‘this is what we know, this is who this player is and what they’ve shown us this year,’” McDermott said. “You also try and look back at the history too, … and you try and put it all together. It’s not easy to do.”

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