ORCHARD PARK — Criticizing the talent of the Buffalo Bills wide receivers has been the vogue thing to do this year. As the AFC’s top-seeded Denver Broncos await with the NFL’s No. 2 defense, it’s more about quantity than quality.
A day after Bills coach Sean McDermott announced Gabe Davis was done for the season with a torn ACL suffered against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC wild-card round, McDermott announced further imaging revealed Tyrell Shavers had also torn his ACL, leaving the Bills with three receivers on the 53-man roster.
Shavers appeared to tweak his left knee on a punt return with 4:41 left in the second quarter and was taken to the locker room. But he returned for 22 snaps in the second half.
He played eight of nine plays on the game-winning touchdown drive, including making key blocks on Josh Allen’s 10-yard tush push and his ensuing 1-yard scoring push. Shavers was also on the field for the last two kneel-downs.
“He embodies what we’re all about,” McDermott said. “… For him to then come back into the game and for it to turn out to be what it was, is remarkable — remarkable toughness, remarkable commitment to the team.”
Shavers doesn’t leave a big dent in the passing game, having caught 15 passes for 245 yards and a touchdown during the regular season. But he logged the second-most snaps amongst receivers — in addition to being a key special teams player — since Week 11.
While Shavers was seeing more playing time in general, he was a critical perimeter blocker for the NFL’s rushing attack. That leaves a big hole, especially without Davis, who is also a gifted run blocker.
That means Keon Coleman has to step out of the doghouse and contribute against the Broncos. The 2024 second-round pick fell out of favor for tardiness, and after being suspended by the team for two games, he fell out of the lineup completely, for two games until the regular-season finale.
After Joshua Palmer was placed on injured reserve Saturday, Coleman played 27 snaps against the Jaguars, catching one pass for 36 yards. Not only should Coleman play Sunday, he may lead the team in snaps due to a lack of depth at the X receiver spot.
McDermott has offered only positivity about Coleman since his benching and believes the former 33rd overall pick has matured over the last half of the season.
“I feel like I should have been out there or whatever the case may be, but decisions happen. That’s not really up to me,” Coleman said. “But just the competitor in myself, I feel like I’m going to make the play on any given down, any day of the week. So it don’t really matter. It is what it is.”
Still, the Bills have two open roster spots and can’t play with three active receivers. A practice squad receiver may get elevated, with Buffalo’s options being Mecole Hardman Jr., rookie Stephen Gosnell and Kristian Wilkerson, who started the year on the practice squad and was re-signed Tuesday.
But the additional player to watch is Curtis Samuel, who along with defensive tackle Ed Oliver, was designated to return from injured reserve. Samuel was placed on IR Nov. 28 after neck and rib injuries lingered for over a month.
Since signing a three-year, $24 million contract in 2024, Samuel has been effective when targeted, but he’s been limited to 23 of 38 games (including playoffs) and was a healthy scratch during the first three games this season.
But Samuel has made some plays during his limited action, including a 55-yard touchdown catch against the Broncos in the wild-card round last season.
“I know my body,” Samuel said. “As long as I’m able to fly around without thinking about any injuries and stuff I’m dealing with, I think I’m pretty much ready to go. Contact will be contact. You can never prepare for that. So, I mean, we’re going to see how it goes.”
Samuel spoke frequently about being in the right mental space to play. He said “a few things” were injured, but they should be healed and he didn’t require surgery.
But Samuel and McDermott were coy about his availability against the Broncos. He was a full participant in practice Tuesday, but the Bills typically give players an extra week of rest when their 21-day window to return from injured reserve opens, but McDermott didn’t anticipate making any more receiver additions to the roster this week.
“I’ll take it one day at a time, just try to get myself in the right headspace,” Samuel said.
NOTES: CB Maxwell Hairston (ankle), RB Ty Johnson (ankle), S Jordan Poyer (hamstring) and K Matt Prater (right quad/right calf) did not participate in Tuesday’s walk-through. … QB Josh Allen (foot/knee/right finger), LB Terrel Bernard (calf), DE A.J. Epenesa (neck), TE Dalton Kincaid (knee/calf), LB Matt Milano (ankle), DT Ed Oliver (biceps) and DE Greg Rousseau (back) were limited.