After a very disappointing season that ended in another heartbreak, the Buffalo Bills now have some questions to answer on their roster. In our last series, we looked at their coaching staff. Now, let’s break down the offensive side of the ball. We kick things off with the WR room. The pass catchers had a down year this year, with nobody behind Stefon Diggs seeing real production until midway through the season. Buffalo enters the offseason with a huge question mark at the WR2 position.
Stefon Diggs
Diggs played a big role in this offense… until he didn’t. From Weeks 1-8, Diggs was the leader in this Buffalo Bills offense and dominated defenses, until they started double-teaming him. For him to get back to his production, they’ll need to find another WR to create mismatches for the secondary. Diggs is going into the first year of his four-year/$96M extension.
Gabe Davis
Davis, who’s a pending free agent come March, had a good season on paper. But if you watched the games, he disappeared for weeks on end, or wasn’t on the same page as Josh Allen. He’ll likely price himself out of Buffalo and command WR2 money, as Spotrac projects his market value at $13.6M per year.
Trent Sherfield
Sherfield, who’s also a pending free agent after signing a one-year deal last March, had a down season compared to 2022 with Miami. When he was on the field, Sherfield only had two or three targets per game, and would strictly be used as a run blocker. He could take a similar contract to his previous deal, in the $1.7M range. But it shouldn’t come with any guarantees of a roster spot.
Khalil Shakir
One of the breakout WRs from this season, Shakir cemented himself as the starting slot receiver for 2024 and beyond. This off-season will be huge for Shakir as he looks to grow from his big production in second half of the season. Shakir is entering the third year of his rookie contract.
Deonte Harty
Maybe one of the most disappointing players from this season. Harty signed here with the hopes of having a bigger offensive role than just a gadget guy. But, after Nyheim Hines’ injury, things went south and he was moved mainly to a special teams role. If Buffalo moves on from Harty this off-season, they’ll save $4.1M, and with that comes a lot of uncertainty about his roster status. If he remains with the team, he’ll enter the final year of his contract.
Justin Shorter
Shorter had his NFL career put on hold after a hamstring injury in the preseason forced him to sit on IR all season. Unfortunately, this meant Buffalo couldn’t get a look at what he could do for this offense. Now, he’ll have an uphill battle to climb to crack next year’s 53-man roster. Shorter is going into the second year of his rookie contract.
KJ Hamler
Hamler signed a reserve/futures contract with Buffalo after skipping the 2023 season for a heart issue. Now, the speedster will have a chance to make this roster as the team’s punt/kick returner on a much cheaper deal than Deonte Harty is on.
Tyrell Shavers
Shavers signed a reserve/futures deal after spending this season on the team’s practice squad. When I wrote about him last off-season, I mentioned Shavers could make the roster as a special teams ace. Unfortunately for him, Buffalo likely doesn’t have room in their WR room for a player like Shavers.
Andy Isabella
Isabella signed with Buffalo late into training camp last season. He joined the team’s practice squad, where he stayed for the entire season. Isabella saw game action several times, mostly on special teams as a gunner and once as a returner. Like Hamler, Isabella will be fighting for a punt return opportunity going into next season, and has a legit shot at it.
Bryan Thompson
Thompson came to Buffalo as a UDFA last season. After not seeing much action in the preseason, Thompson signed back to the practice squad before the regular season. This season, he has another uphill battle to climb just to make the practice squad.
Overview
The Buffalo Bills are only “losing” two receivers to free agency. Between now and March, the Bills could have another receiver on the open market. Gabe Davis, who had a productive career in Buffalo, has told local media he’ll test the open market, but is open to returning to Buffalo. Trent Sherfield may opt to sign somewhere else, like the Miami Dolphins, where he had his best season of his career.
Khalil Shakir will be a tremendous weapon for the Buffalo Bills down the road, while Stefon Diggs is still going to be the WR1. But they need more.
While they have some big holes to fix on defense, WR has to be the top priority for Brandon Beane and Co. this off-season. Getting Josh Allen another weapon, and Stefon Diggs some help will take an offense that was stagnant at times in 2023, and open up more possibilities for it in 2024.
| Priority Order | Position Group |
|---|---|
| 1 | Wide Receivers |
| 2 | Defensive Line |
| 3 | Safeties |
| 4 | Offensive Line |
| 5 | Running Backs |
| 6 | Linebackers |
| 7 | Cornerbacks |
| 8 | Quarterbacks |
| 9 | Tight Ends |
Featured Image Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
