Bills Get Good News on Promising WR After Injury Setback at Training Camp

The Buffalo Bills got a scare in training camp on Sunday when promising wide receiver Tyrell Shavers hurt his ankle and needed to be carted off the field, but the team may have avoided the worst.

Shavers is hoping to earn a bigger role after a breakout performance at the end of the 2024 season, angling to make his way up from the practice squad and beyond his role on special teams. Shavers appeared to suffer a major setback on Sunday, but an insider provided some good news later in the day.

Bills Lose Tyrell Shavers to Late Injury

Shavers was hurt while making a contested catch against rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston near the goal line during an 11-on-11 drill. After Shavers landed in the end zone with the ball, Hairston tried to knock the ball loose and Shavers fell to the ground in pain.

The team’s medical staff tended to Shavers and he was ultimately carted off the field.

“He ran an under, a shallow route,” Hairston said, via The Athletic. “That’s just us competing — me being a corner, not trying to allow the receiver to catch the ball.”

Though the Bills did not provide any immediate updates on the injury, ESPN reporter Alaina Getzenberg shared on X that the wide receiver was “doing fine” after being taken away. Getzenberg also shared more specifics on the injury to Shavers.

“Bills wide receiver Tyrell Shavers has an ankle injury, per sources. One source described it as a ‘low ankle sprain’ and that Shavers is doing fine after leaving practice on a cart,” Getzenberg wrote.

Tyrell Shavers Making Bid for Roster Spot

As The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia noted, Shavers has made a big impression at training camp and was “earning increased opportunities through just the first four days of training camp.” Buscaglia added that the 25-year-old “seemed like a real threat to make the 53-man roster.”

Shavers appeared in three games last season, making the biggest impression in a Week 17 win over the New York Jets. With the Bills leading 33-0, Shavers caught a middle screen pass from backup Mitch Trubisky — the first target of the wide receiver’s career — and raced 69 yards through the New York defense for a touchdown.

While that would be the only reception of the season for Shavers, it showed a flash of his potential and heightened hopes that he could make the active roster in the coming season. If he can return from injury in time, Shavers still faces tough competition as the Bills added a trio of veterans in Elijah Moore, Joshua Palmer, and Lavishka Shenault.

Shavers could have a bigger opportunity due to the spate of other injuries at training camp so far, Buscaglia noted.

“They lost Curtis Samuel — close to a lock for the team — early on Day 3 to a hamstring injury,” Buscaglia wrote. “Then the Bills suffered three more receiver injuries Sunday. One was to Shavers at the end of the practice and another was to Elijah Moore, the current favorite to make the team as the fifth receiver. Moore didn’t take part in team drills after going through some seven-on-seven reps earlier on Sunday due to general leg soreness. Seventh-round rookie Kaden Prather also missed time Sunday, as he sported a wrap on his upper leg as the practice went on.”