Elijah Moore of the Cleveland Browns catches a third quarter touchdown
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Elijah Moore of the Cleveland Browns catches a third quarter touchdown
The Buffalo Bills played it safe Tuesday afternoon when final rosters were announced. The team kept six wide receivers on the 53-man, cutting five in the process. Among those cut were veteran newcomers Laviska Shenault and KJ Hamler.
Both Shenault and Hamler are kick return specialists at this point in their careers. Hamler hasn’t caught a pass in the NFL since 2022. And Shenault is averaging less than 100 yards a year since he left Jacksonville in 2021.
The thing they both have going for them is speed. Shenault nearly led the NFL in kick return yards last season. Whereas Hamler had trademark speed before suffering an injury in 2023 that he is still trying to come back from.
Regardless, when it comes to being a foster’s home for lost receivers, the Bills were having none of it. They kept the four returning receivers they entered camp with in Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel, and Tyrell Shavers. As well as their offenses biggest free agent signing, Joshua Palmer, who’s roster status was never in question.
Bubble player Elijah Moore also made the final cut despite speculation around the media.
With a quarterback like Josh Allen, it feels as though the Bills kept the right guys to build the offense around him.
Elijah Moore Was The Right Choice
This is a pro-Elijah Moore column. When I saw he was a bubble player heading into the final day of roster cuts, I was shocked.
Moore has been a consistent producer at every step of his four year NFL career.
In four seasons, he has a clean 200 receptions, totaling 2,162 yards and nine touchdowns. And that was catching passes from quarterbacks like Zach Wilson, Mike White, Browns Deshaun Watson, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Jameis Winston, the list goes on.
Put this gadget guy in Josh Allen’s offense, with Joe Brady calling plays, and he feels like a guaranteed 600 yard player.
I think year one of Curtis Samuel’s $24 million contract made Bills’ fans scared of Moore, who, for all intents and purposes, looks a lot like Moore. They’re both 5’10-ish slot receivers with big name recognition.
Though Moore might not have lived up to his second round selection, I’ll take 50 catches and 600 yards from a $2.5 million receiver any day.
Tyrell Shavers Gets A Crack At The Roster
Tyrell Shavers is a fan favorite perennial bubble player. He signed onto the Bills after going undrafted in the 2023 draft. He spent that season on the practice squad.
In year two, Shavers once again was relegated to the practice squad, being called up for a handful of games and serving mostly on special teams. He made just one catch in 2024 but it was a big one, hauling in a 69 yard touchdown reception in a 40-14 win over the Jets.
Now 26-years-old, Shavers has been given a bode of confidence going into year three. He will begin the season on the active roster for the first time in his NFL career.
He is expected to play quite a bit of special teams snaps, giving him plus roster value. But it will be fun to see if and how they get Tyrell incorporated on the offense.