The Buffalo Bills are going through injuries on their wide-receiving corps, which prompted them to make a roster move.
The Bills signed wide receiver Deon Cain, a journeyman wide receiver who has not played a regular-season snap since 2020, to a one-year contract to join their practice squad Sunday.
Cain, a sixth-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2018, has played just 15 NFL games, with 13 coming in 2019. He played two games with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2020 season but does not have a reception since Week 16 of the 2019 NFL season.
Cain also has spent time with the practice squads of the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens.
Cain won an FBS national championship as a wide receiver with Clemson in 2016. He also was the 2023 UFL Championship Game MVP by catching three touchdowns for the Birmingham Stallions in their 28-12 win over the Pittsburgh Maulers.
He spent the 2024 season toggling between the Bills and Carolina Panthers practice squads.
Why Did The Bills Sign Deon Cain?
Of all the wide receivers available on the free agent market, Buffalo chose Cain because of familiarity. He spent the 2024 training camp with the Bills, logging three catches for 28 yards before they waived him.
Cain signed with the Panthers’ practice squad in August, but they released him roughly five weeks later. He re-joined the Bills practice squad before they released him Dec. 3, 2024.
The Bills signed him to a one-year contract, which presumably means they intend to keep him around either on the practice squad or active roster the rest of the season.
Why Did The Bills Need To Sign Deon Cain?
Buffalo has been ravaged by injuries to its receiving corps. Elijah Moore, Curtis Samuel, Tyrell Shavers and Kaden Prather are all sidelined, and so are each of the the Bills’ two primary tight ends, Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid.
That means four of the-now 15 wide receivers on the Bills roster are sidelined with lower-body injuries, plus each of their primary tight ends.
“Itâs not ideal, especially with the names that are on [the injury list],” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “So, youâre trying to move the team forward and develop, but it also allows an opportunity for us to see somebody step in and do the job. So, thatâs just the nature of having the injuries that we do.”
The Bills wideout injuries all have occurred over the past two days and affect each receiver’s lower legs. Shavers’ ailment is to his ankle, and he reportedly will only miss a few days of practice despite sustaining what at first appeared as a serious injury.
Samuel and Prather each are dealing with hamstring injuries. Moore, who is set to enter his fifth NFL season with his third different team, had the least-serious injury, since he is dealing with general leg soreness.
Despite the rash of recent receivers injuries, none of Keon Coleman, Laviska Shenault Jr., Josh Palmer or Khalil Shakir is dealing with any ailments at the moment.
That is a promising development since that quartet expects to be the Bills Nos. 1-4 receiving targets — along with Kincaid and Knox — for quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen.
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