ORCHARD PARK — Kristian Wilkerson has been here before. It’s nothing new.
A week remains until Wilkerson learns his fate on cutdown day. That means the receiver has two practices and a preseason game to use as his final audition for the Buffalo Bills’ active roster.
Wilkerson has been released six times since entering the NFL in 2020 as an undrafted free agent from FCS Southeast Missouri State. He’s survived final cuts once during his career, making the Raiders’ roster in 2023, but still only played in two games that season before being released midseason.
In his first training camp with the Bills, Wilkerson has caught the coaching staff’s attention enough to garner first-team reps as they battle injuries at the position. Wilkerson is still a longshot to make the final roster, but it’s an improvement from being an afterthought at the outset of camp.
“When you come here, it’s a team that expects you to do your job,” Wilkerson told GNN Sports. “They expect you to produce when you’re on the field. So that’s all you can really ask for and that’s all I was looking for in a team.”
Injuries have not only benefited Wilkerson in getting first-team snaps, but it’s given him a volume of snaps. In previous seasons, the Bills might have an outlier get a few snaps with quarterback Josh Allen during team sessions, but they are rarely players who don’t have a chance — even a marginal one — of making the final roster.
This year the Bills have been so plagued by injuries that it’s hard to tell where they stand after Keon Coleman, Josh Palmer, Curtis Samuel and Khalil Shakir. Beyond those players, it’s hard to gauge how many receivers they will keep and who those players will be.
Samuel’s role is even murky because he’s missed so much time due to a hamstring injury.
“We have a pretty good feel for one, two, three,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “But who’s four, five, six, seven? Who’s four, five, six? Who’s four and five? … Once you get after that third person there, it’s trying to figure out who they are and how they can help us not only on offense, but on special teams.”
Wilkerson, 28, first started moving up the depth chart when Shakir suffered a high ankle sprain Aug. 1. Samuel was already sidelined and Elijah Moore had missed a week with a lower leg injury. Then Palmer was briefly limited with a groin injury.
The ability to grasp the offense quickly and the versatility to play all three receiver spots allowed Wilkerson to slide into a more prominent role during practice. And it flowed into preseason games, with Wilkerson logging a 20-yard catch in both games.
Wilkerson has two catches for 45 yards this preseason, but that’s nothing new. He’s made 40 receptions for 479 yards in 10 career preseason games.
He had 17 grabs for 188 yards and a touchdown in the 2023 preseason, using a 10-catch, 122-yard outing against the Cowboys in the final exhibition game to make the Raiders roster. Wilkerson also had eight catches for 99 yards for the Patriots in the 2022 preseason opener before sustaining a season-ending concussion on a blindside hit the following week.
“He’s a vet,” Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady said. “And I’m very pleased by his movement skills, his knowledge of the offense. When he gets opportunities, he’s making plays with it.”
So far, Wilkerson’s preseason success has only led to six receptions for 60 yards and three touchdowns in nine regular-season games. He did have two touchdowns for the Patriots in the 2021 regular-season finale.
But Wilkerson knows his path to the Bills has more to do with special teams and blocking than catches. Under McDermott the Bills have valued big-bodied receivers who can block and cover kicks for the final roster spot.
The Bills had that with Mack Hollins last year, which sent Tyrell Shavers back to the practice squad for a second season after a strong camp. They don’t have a lock for that job this year, which puts the 6-foot-1, 214-pound Wilkerson in competition with Shavers.
At the very least, Wilkerson has seemingly earned a job on a practice squad, whether it be in Buffalo or elsewhere.
“I’ve been through it so many times,” Wilkerson said. “You just put it all on the field. It’s already there. So there’s nothing to be nervous about. You already put your tape out, your resume also. You can’t be nervous about what you’ve done already.”