ORCHARD PARK — Curtis Samuel won’t be on the list of 38 cuts next Tuesday. That’s a guarantee.
Unless the Buffalo Bills can find a trade partner, they can’t walk away from his contract unscathed. At the moment, the Bills are the only team with negative salary cap space and Samuel carries a $12.085 million dead cap hit.
But for the second consecutive year, the offseason is approaching with Samuel’s role within the offense uncertain. He battled a toe injury last year and he’s been sidelined with a hamstring injury since July 28, playing in a limited capacity since last week.
Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer and Khalil Shakir are the unquestioned top-three receivers, but it gets murky after that. If the Bills keep five receivers, the fifth is up for grabs and if it’s six, it’s also up in the air.
Samuel is a more gifted player than Elijah Moore, Tyrell Shavers and Kristian Wilkerson. But the Bills aren’t going to keep five receivers active without one contributing on special teams.
If the Bills keep Moore — or Gabe Davis, who worked out for the team Tuesday — as the fifth receiver, one of them or Samuel would likely be inactive. That’s the same if they keep six, because Shavers and Wilkerson offer more special teams value than a fifth receiving weapon.
And the fact is, the Bills are basing Samuel’s value through history more than training camp practices.“You try and look at everything through the truth window,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “… You try and also look back at the history. … You try and put it all together and it’s not easy to do and it’s never always the same from one case to another. ‘What do we know right now from this camp?’ Sometimes that’s all you can evaluate.”
There is more motivation than usual for Samuel to produce — and not just because of the current competition on the roster. Samuel played through injuries for most of his first season in Buffalo, with just 31 receptions for 253 yards and a touchdown.
After signing a three-year, $24 million contract in free agency, Samuel hasn’t found a rhythm in the offense since his arrival. There were flashes of his talent during the playoffs, but the Bills didn’t sign him to be the fourth or fifth receiver.
“I want to do better than last year and I believe that will happen,” Samuel said. “I’m going to stay motivated and I’m going to stay in the playbook. Just trying to be one of those guys that Josh (Allen) can lean on, the coaches can lean on, to know that I’m going to do my part.”
And the benefit Samuel has over a younger player is that he knows how to be a professional and what it takes to be successful. He’s also been in the system for a season and understands how the Bills operate.
While the Bills would like Samuel to get some reps before Week 1 to establish chemistry with Allen, his preseason snaps aren’t as important as a player scratching to make the roster for the first time or someone who is coming into the offense as a free agent.
“I mean, I don’t got school,” Samuel joked. “I don’t got much going on in my life that it’s hard to stay focused. I got a great support system at home. Everybody keeps me excited and motivated and I’m just happy. My personal life is … I’m happy and it’s going to translate on the field when I’m out there.”
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One player who does need reps, whether it’s in practices or games, is Cole Bishop. The second-year safety doesn’t have the benefit of nine NFL training camps like Samuel, especially since more than half of his first two have been spent watching while nursing an injury.
Bishop’s 12 snaps against the Bears were unremarkable, capped by getting beat on a touchdown grab by Olamide Zaccheaus. But McDermott feels Bishop has improved since returning to practice last week from a quad injury.
But McDermott has also said he needs more reps to eliminate small mistakes. Bishop is clearly the front-runner to start opposite Taylor Rapp instead of Damar Hamlin, but McDermott also said they are still looking for that player to seize that role.
“That adds callous to his experience, to his resume,” McDermott said. “He has shown to this point that the ability, the skill level, can be there. We’re just not there yet. … We’re just kind of getting started because what wasn’t with his availability affects that.”
NOTES: The Bills signed RB Jarveon Howard and WR Grant DuBose. … They placed RB Darrynton Evans (hamstring) on injured reserve and waived CB Te’Cory Couch and WR Kaden Prather. … Prather was the team’s seventh-round pick but missed most of camp with a knee injury. … The Bills have one available roster spot.