The Buffalo Bills are currently in the Windy City, spending time practicing with the Chicago Bears. The Bills will play the Bears in their second preseason game on Sunday night. But before the game, Buffalo had joint practices with Chicago on Friday.
Joint practices are a good way for teams to roll out their starters and get work in. Many coaches don’t like playing their starters in preseason games to avoid injuries. Joint practices allow the coaches to control the situation, and some teams don’t even allow live tackling.
Since the Bills and Bears starters took a handful of reps on Friday, there’s a chance most won’t play in the preseason game. With fewer Bills players playing on Sunday, it allows players to get more snaps who are looking to make the roster.
Bills Upgraded The WR Room
This offseason, during free agency, the Bills added heavily to their receiving room. Buffalo signed veteran Josh Palmer, Elijah Moore, and Laviska Shenault Jr.
Palmer is a lock to make the team since he is on a three-year contract, but Moore and Shenault are only on one-year deals. One may make the team between Moore and Shenault. For most of the offseason, it felt like Moore was going to make the final roster. But there might have been a change in the past few weeks through training camp. It seems like Moore could be the odd man out, and Shenault could be taking his place.
Shenault Could Make Active Roster
Brandon Ray from Fansided thinks Shenault has a good chance of making the team with a good showing in the second preseason game.
“Much like Tyrell Shavers, Laviska Shenault Jr. is a versatile wideout who is also a contributor on special teams. In the first game, Shenault had just one catch for 17 yards. However, he averaged 31 yards per kick return on special teams,” Ray wrote. “The Bills’ coaching staff values versatility, and unless Shenault completely disappoints to the point where it’s unforgettable, he has the upper edge to take a roster spot from someone else who may deserve it more.”
Shenault 26 is heading into his sixth NFL season. In 63 games, he had recorded 1,587 receiving yards and six scores.
If Shenault makes the active roster, will he likely be used on special teams and be used in the pass game a few times?
Even though Shenault has the upper hand on Moore, he still needs to fight off receiver Tyrell Shavers, who had a nice showing in the preseason game 1, catching two passes for 70 yards. Shavers played so well that Ray also thinks he could be a lock for the 53-man roster if he plays well on Sunday.
“If Tyrell Shavers doesn’t make the final roster, I will be very surprised. He can be a deep threat, while also playing inside the numbers. He’s shown flashes here and there. Against the Giants, he had a massive 58-yard reception that helped put the Bills in field goal range to get three points before the end of the first half,” Ray wrote. You could make the argument for both sides on him making the final roster. However, if he has another highlight reel and has a big impact against the Bears, the Bills can no longer ignore the idea of finding him a roster spot.
It will be interesting to see how the receiving battle plays out over camp the next few weeks.
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