Buffalo Bills veterans reported to training camp on Tuesday, which means football is finally here! However, it also means that it’s almost time for the team to make critical roster moves to get everything ready for the regular season in September.
Bills Made a Minor Roster Decision
The Bills still have a few more weeks before they need to start making major roster decisions, but they did make one on Tuesday with wide receiver Tyrell Shavers. Buffalo placed him on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. Shavers tore his ACL in the Bills’ wild-card win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in January. It’s only been six months since Shavers’ injury, and usually ACLs take nine months to a full year to come back from.
Since Shavers is on the PUP list, he can participate in all team activities except for practices until he is activated. If he remains on the PUP list by the time the Bills reduce their roster to 53 players, he will have to miss at least four games in the regular season.
The 26-year-old receiver played in all 17 games for the Bills last season, recording 15 receptions for 245 yards and one touchdown. Even though Shavers didn’t have the most productive performance during the regular season, he was a fan favorite in the preseason last year.
In three preseason games, Shavers recorded six receptions for 123 yards and one touchdown, which caused many fans to become attached to him.
Hopefully, Shavers will return from his injury this season, giving the Bills a boost toward the playoffs.
Brandon Beane Was Impressed With Shavers Last Summer
When Shavers entered training camp with the Bills last summer, there was a good chance he would not make the active 53-man roster unless he had a strong preseason performance in both games and practices. The Bills cut Shavers twice after training camp in 2023 and 2024, which made his prospects for 2025 look gloomy. However, Shavers impressed during the preseason and caught the attention of general manager Brandon Beane.
“Shaves has worked so hard, I commend him,” Beane said last August. “Not only do I think he’s continued to improve his game and his feel for our offense, his connection with our quarterbacks, but special teams…I think Shaves has shown that he’s earned that opportunity. He’ll tell you before I tell you he’s still got to continue to work and grow and improve but we have a lot of confidence in him.”
Even though Shavers won’t be on the field during the first part of training camp or the first half of the season, he left a positive impression on Beane last season, which may help him remain with the team for another year despite not being able to showcase his skills immediately.
The good news for Shavers is that Joe Brady has been with him for the last few seasons, and now that he is the head coach, he may have a lot of faith in Shavers being part of the Bills’ game plan for the next few years.
Bills Place 26-Year-Old WR on PUP to Open Training Camp