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The Buffalo Bills are giving a boost to their return game just days after head coach Sean McDermott offered some critical remarks on the team’s primary return specialists.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on August 12 that the Bills were signing wide receiver and return specialist Damiere Byrd, a well-traveled veteran known for his speed. The team confirmed it the following day.
Byrd has seen action with five NFL teams, with his best season coming as a member of the New England Patriots in 2020 when he made 47 catches for 604 yards and 1 touchdown.
Byrd will likely compete for a spot on special teams after the return game struggled in a preseason loss to the Chicago Bears.
Damiere Byrd Familiar With Bills Front Office
As Kyle Silagyi of SI.com noted, Byrd is familiar with the two main figures in the Bills organization. He broke into the league as an undrafted free agent with the Carolina Panthers in 2015, with current Bills general manager Brandon Beane serving as assistant general manager and McDermott was the defensive coordinator.
Byrd spent the first three seasons of his career with the Panthers, taking a light role in the offense but a bigger impact on special teams. He averaged 32.7 yards per kickoff return in 2017 including 1 touchdown.
As Silagyi added, Byrd ran a 4.28-second 40-yard dash at his Pro Day before coming to the NFL and could add some speed to a Bills wide receiving corps built on size and strength.
“The 5-foot-9 pass catcher adds a bit of speed to a Buffalo receiving corps that prioritized size, catch radius, and contested catch ability in the offseason,” Silagyi wrote, adding that Byrd is “more likely a special teams acquisition.”
Silagyi added that McDermott offered some critical remarks of returners K.J. Hamler and Daequan Hardy on August 10, noting that both had “a little bit of trouble tracking the ball” in the 33-6 preseason loss to the Bears.
Bills Face Question Marks at Wide Receiver
The Bills head into the 2024 season with a significantly different wide receiving corps, having lost their top two wideouts in Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis along with the departures of contributing veterans Trent Sherfield and Deonte Harty.
The Bills used their top draft pick on receiver Keon Coleman and signed a trio of veterans in Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Chase Claypool and Curtis Samuel. But Ryan O’Halloran of The Buffalo News noted that the acquisitions have not yielded the desired results.
“Valdes-Scantling was basically invisible early in camp but had a few good days of practice recently. The Bills should want to see more,” he wrote.
O’Halloran added that Claypool has not been able to stay healthy long enough to make an impact.
“And Claypool … forget about it. He hasn’t practiced since July 28 because of a toe injury,” O’Halloran wrote.
That could leave an opening for Byrd if he can impress in the passing game, but he would still have to contend with Hamler as a return specialist. Despite the troubles that McDermott noted in tracking the ball, the former second-round pick was able to return one punt for 15 yards.
After missing an extended stretch of his career due to injury, Hamler said it felt good to get back on an NFL field.
“I like playing in the preseason because I hadn’t played in (so long),” Hamler said, according to O’Halloran. “I feel I’m going to get a lot of returns this year and there will be a lot of creases to take advantage of.”
