ORCHARD PARK — A little more than two years ago, Tyrell Shavers spent draft weekend hoping for a call that never came. On Tuesday, Shavers waited all day hoping he didn’t get a call.
He didn’t.
There was no congratulatory call from general manager Brandon Beane or head coach Sean McDermott. On cutdown day, Buffalo Bills players subscribe to the phrase, “no news is good news.”
When the 4 p.m. deadline to submit rosters to the NFL office passed, Shavers breathed easy and called his agent. After going undrafted and getting released two years in a row, Shavers became the ninth player under McDermott to make the 53-man roster after spending an entire season on the practice squad and sixth since 2022.
“Part of me is like, ‘I really made it,’” Shavers told GNN Sports. “And the other part is like, ‘Now it’s time to go to work, for real.’ The work is just beginning. I’m blessed, I’m happy. The work has, for sure, paid off. Now it’s time to go to work.”
Patience is something Shavers has grown accustomed to. A four-star recruit coming out of high school, Shavers caught one pass for 20 yards in 28 games over two seasons at Alabama.
Then Shavers caught nine passes for 107 yards in one season at Mississippi State until finally getting a real chance to play during his final two seasons at San Diego State. Sound familiar yet?
The Bills waived Shavers after training camp in 2023 and was signed to the practice squad. His improvement was evident in 2024, earning first-team snaps during minicamps and training camp, but it still wasn’t enough to make the final roster.
“It honestly gave me flashbacks,” Shavers said. “Last time I got cut, I was like, ‘This is probably why I went to three different schools.’ Because it’s preparing me for learning. A lot of people don’t process cuts as good, but I was trying to find something positive in everything.”
A practice squad call-up in three games last year, Shavers caught one pass for 69 yards and a touchdown against the Jets. But because he didn’t make the 53-man roster last year, Shavers entered spring as an afterthought.
But after an ankle injury kept him out of a few practices, Shavers started making plays and didn’t stop. And it translated into preseason games, making six catches for a team-high 123 yards and a touchdown in three contests.
“I think he’s continued to improve his game, still for our offense, his connection with our quarterbacks, but special teams,” Beane said. “We really have stressed to him since he’s been here, if you’re not trotting out with the starting group and playing starter reps, that he can help on fourth down. … I think Shaves has shown that he’s earned that opportunity.”
Shavers is well aware that his path to a jersey on game days is going to come more from blocking and tackling than catching passes. The Bills love to utilize a big receiver — Shavers is 6-foot-4, 211 pounds — to use in big personnel packages to block and to use on kick and punt coverage, along with kick and punt return.
Veterans — Mack Hollins and Trent Sherfield — took both of those roles in Shavers’ first two seasons, but the Bills didn’t have such a player in their top-five. And it’s a role Shavers is not only used to, but enjoys.
He was a core special teams player during college, blocking three punts during his final season at San Diego State, including recovering one for a touchdown.
“It’s something I’m comfortable with, I just have to learn the proper techniques that the coaches want me to use here,” Shavers said. “We work on it every day in practice, after practice, talking more in meetings — just staying on it so I can be ready to go.”
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The Bills were missing one wide receiver during practice Wednesday, but got another. After missing the preseason finale in Tampa with an illness, Curtis Samuel did not practice Wednesday.
Khalil Shakir did return to practice, however. Shakir hadn’t practiced since Aug. 1 after suffering a high ankle sprain. The Bills were confident then that he would return in time for Week 1 and he appears on track to do that.
Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (calf) was activated from the physically unable to perform list Tuesday, but still did not practice in uniform. Also missing was cornerback Christian Benford, while safety Jordan Hancock (shoulder) wore a red non-contract uniform.
Cornerback Tre’Davious White also did not practice, but was in the facility, walking without a pronounced limp after suffering a lower leg injury. Beane said Wednesday that White’s injury was not season-ending and didn’t rule out returning for the season opener, saying the Bills would take the injury “day by day.”
Beane was hopeful first-round pick Maxwell Hairston (LCL sprain) would be ready to start practicing in Week 5 when he’s eligible to return from injured reserve. But in the event White isn’t able to play against the Ravens on Sept. 7, Beane feels rookie sixth-round pick Dorian Strong and Ja’Marcus Ingram can fill in.
“We’ve got other guys that we believe in,” Beane said. “”So the other guys on the 53 and then we’ll have the guys on the practice squad ready to roll. We’re very confident in who we have and our medical team. Tre will do everything he can to be ready for Baltimore.”