Last Friday, Buffalo Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir was injured during the Red & Blue practice at Highmark Stadium. The 25-year-old receiver suffered an ankle injury that will keep him out week to week.
A timetable for Shakir’s injury could be five weeks, which could keep him out of the Bills’ first game.
There is still a lot of time until the Bills open their season, but Buffalo should be looking at options to step up for Shakir.
Not Many Free Agent WRs Available
Not many receiver options are in the open market, with Amari Cooper being one of them. Cooper played for Buffalo in the second half of last year and didn’t finish with over 300 receiving yards.
It’s a long shot the Bills would bring Cooper or even receiver Gabe Davis, who is also a free agent. Davis played for Buffalo from 2020 to 2023 before leaving for the Jacksonville Jaguars last year.
With not many receivers in free agency, Buffalo could trade for one. Last week, Washington Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin asked to be traded.
The 28-year-old receiver has a $68 million contract that is coming to an end and wants a new deal. Washington doesn’t know if they’re going to give McLaurin what he wants since he will turn 30 next month.
A lot of receivers start to slow down at 30, which wouldn’t be a good thing for Washington. If the Commanders have McLaurin locked into a long-term deal and he can’t contribute, the team could take a hit.
The Bills Urged To Trade For McLaurin
With that being said, the Bills’ Super Bowl window is right now. Buffalo could use a receiver like McLaurin, and The Athletic proposed wide receiver Curtis Samuel and a 2026-fifth-round pick for McLaurin.
“The Bills could certainly use a legitimate No. 1 receiver, but as of right now, only if the right situation arises. McLaurin is a perfect fit for Josh Allen, though McLaurin’s need for a new deal with a cap-strapped team casts some doubt on the pairing. If the Bills could move Samuel’s $6.9 million in guaranteed base salary, along with a Day 3 pick for someone like McLaurin, I could see them talking themselves into it. Samuel, at least, could give the Commanders a player they could start in the interim,” The Athletic writes.
“Considering McLaurin’s age and that the Bills would need to give him a new contract, that creates some leverage. The Bills could conceivably make room for a new deal on their cap with the excavated Samuel cap hit in 2025, using some previously untapped contract restructures, along with backloading McLaurin’s new deal since they can structure it however they want. However, the presence of Keon Coleman and Joshua Palmer, and wanting to see what they have in them for a year, may discourage the Bills from even getting involved,” The Athletic added.
Samuel is heading into his ninth NFL season and played for Washington from 2021-2023. The trade would be ironic since both Samuel and McLaurin were teammates at Ohio State. It would be interesting to see former college teammates trade for each other.
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