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Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir takes the field before the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at Highmark Stadium on January 12, 2025.<\/p>\n
The Buffalo Bills are looking to bounce back from a stunning loss to the\u00a0Miami Dolphins\u00a0and try to climb back into the race for the AFC East, and might need to do it with an ailing wide receiver.<\/p>\n
The team announced on Wednesday that top pass-catcher Khalil Shakir was limited at the first practice of the week with a rib injury. Head coach Sean McDermott revealed that Shakir was hurt during the loss to the Dolphins, which dropped the Bills two full games behind the\u00a0New England Patriots\u00a0for supremacy in the division.<\/p>\n
Shakir was able to finish Sunday\u2019s game against the Dolphins, making seven receptions for 58 yards and returning one punt for seven yards. Shakir has been the top target for quarterback Josh Allen since the departure of Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis prior to the 2024 season, leading the team this year with 45 receptions for 457 yards.<\/p>\n
As\u00a0SI.com\u2019s Alex Brasky\u00a0noted, the injury could be a setback even if it doesn\u2019t keep Shakir off the field for Sunday\u2019s game against the\u00a0Tampa Bay Buccaneers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout knowing the significance of the injury, an ailing rib is a concern for a wide receiver with a play style similar to Shakir\u2019s,\u201d Brasky wrote. \u201cThe slot receiver is used heavily in the screen game, which causes him to be swarmed by defenders much like a running back. His use in the return game is also something that may need to be adjusted if he continues to feel lingering effects from his injury throughout the week.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bills have been hit hard by injuries, though most of the pain has been focused on the defensive side of the ball. The Bills lost several starters to long-term injuries, placing safety Taylor Rapp, defensive tackle Ed Oliver, and edge rusher Michael Hoecht on injured reserve.<\/p>\n
The Bills have struggled to get consistent production from their wide receiving corps this season, with the group often failing to get separation from defenders and leaving Allen under increased pressure.<\/p>\n
The team brought in some help this week, signing former\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0wide receiver Mecole Hardman to their practice squad. The 27-year-old is a three-time Super Bowl champion and told reporters this week that it feels a bit odd to join a former rival.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of weird a little bit, going against these guys for the last six years,\u201d Hardman said,\u00a0via Buffalo\u2019s WGZR.<\/p>\n
Hardman added that he was excited to make a difference in Buffalo and get another chance in the\u00a0NFL\u00a0after waiting for a call throughout the first half of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited for the opportunity,\u201d Hardman said. \u201cI\u2019m glad to be here and they welcomed me with open arms, so I\u2019m happy about that. They\u2019re definitely joking with me about the past matches that we had in the years, but it\u2019s fun. I\u2019m enjoying it \u2026 I\u2019m happy that they called and gave me a chance and opportunity, so I\u2019m grateful for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Head coach Brian Schottenheimer of the Dallas Cowboys<\/p>\n
The Dallas Cowboys,\u00a0losers of two in a row\u00a0and three of their last four, have a golden opportunity to right the ship coming out of their bye week when they take on one of the most disappointing teams of 2025, the 2-7\u00a0Las Vegas Raiders, in a Monday Night Football matchup.<\/p>\n
But the Cowboys are taking no chances, at least with their offensive line depth, after losing a practice squad lineman on Tuesday when former Washington Commanders\u00a0third round draft pick Geron Christian\u00a0was given a shot at an active roster spot as the Denver Broncos swooped in and signed him away.<\/p>\n
With the 6-foot-5, 302-pound offensive tackle now departed, the Cowboys wasted no time in replacing him with another massive lineman who plays the same tackle position. On Wednesday, Dallas signed 6-foot-4, 307-pound lineman Marcellus Johnson to their practice squad,\u00a0according to the team\u2019s transaction report.<\/p>\n
The Cowboys\u2019 offensive line has not been at the root of the team\u2019s problems, but at 3-5-1 and hopes of returning to the postseason after missing out last year rapidly dwindling, Dallas cannot afford to spring any new leaks. Quarterback Dak Prescott has benefited from the third-lowest sack percentage in the NFL (4.2), going down behind the line of scrimmage just 15 times in nine games,\u00a0the seventh-lowest total\u00a0in the league.<\/p>\n
Though his offensive line has largely managed to protect him from sacks, Prescott has nonetheless found himself under pressure more than he, or the Cowboys, would like. His\u00a0average time-to-throw of\u00a02.6 seconds ranks him only 19th in the NFL, among quarterbacks who have taken at least 100 snaps this season.<\/p>\n
It would probably take a series of injuries to allow Johnson to take his turn on the active roster protecting Prescott. The difference between the 2024 undrafted free agent and his predecessor Christian is pronounced.<\/p>\n
Where Christian has appeared in 63 NFL games, starting 25 for six different teams over seven seasons, Johnson has yet to be on the field for a single snap in game that counts. Since\u00a0signing a $2.85 million, three-year\u00a0contract with the\u00a0New York Giants\u00a0in 2024 \u2014 a contract that was terminated almost immediately in favor of a $225,000 practice squad deal \u2014 Johnson has bounced around between the practice squads of the Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts for two seasons.<\/p>\n
When the Giants signed Johnson initially, they guaranteed $170,000 of his contract,\u00a0the most they gave any UDFA\u00a0in their 2024 class.<\/p>\n
The Colts\u00a0released Johnson from their practice squad\u00a0on October 14, and he remained without a football home for almost a month before the Cowboys signed him on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
At the time of the 2024 draft, one NFL insider said that he had rated Johnson as \u201ca legitimate NFL player,\u201d and\u00a0graded him \u201calmost as high\u201d\u00a0as his former Eastern Michigan teammate, Sidy Sow.<\/p>\n
Sow, a 6-foot-5, 318-pound offensive lineman was drafted in 2023, in the third round, by the\u00a0New England Patriots. The Patriots released Sow in August, and the 27-year-old lineman was subsequently signed to the\u00a0Houston Texans\u2018 practice squad. The Texans elevated Sow to their active roster on November 8.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Getty Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir takes the field before the AFC Wild Card Playoff game at Highmark Stadium on January 12, 2025. The Buffalo Bills are looking to bounce back from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t