During three seasons at Alabama, wide receiver Tyrell Shavers had one reception – a 20-yard catch in a 66-3 victory over Western Carolina on Nov. 23, 2019.
On Sunday in his second NFL season, Shavers got his first NFL reception – and it went 69 yards for a touchdown.
Playing as a practice-squad elevation for the third time in his NFL career, Shavers caught a pass from Buffalo backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky behind the line of scrimmage and ran through the New York Jets defense for a touchdown with 12:37 left to play in the Bills’ 40-14 victory.
The pass was the first thrown to Shavers in an NFL regular-season game.
Shavers was the second former Alabama receiver to catch a touchdown pass for the Bills on Sunday. Amari Cooper made a leaping catch of a long throw by quarterback Josh Allen in the end zone for a 30-yard score as Buffalo took a 19-0 lead with 5:13 left in the third quarter.
Cooper entered the NFL as the fourth pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. The former Alabama All-American’s touchdown reception was the 64th of his career and came on his 711th reception in the NFL.
In addition to his single reception at Alabama, Shavers had a 14-yard run in a 38-7 victory over Mississippi State on Nov. 16, 2019, and he recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown in a 47-28 victory over Texas A&M on Oct. 12, 2019. After a redshirt year, he played in 28 games in 2018 and 2019 for the Crimson Tide.
Shavers had nine receptions after transferring to Mississippi State in 2020, then he played at San Diego State for two seasons. After catching 38 passes for 643 yards and three touchdowns for the Aztecs in 2022, Shavers signed with the Bills as a rookie free agent.
Shavers spent the 2023 NFL season on Buffalo’s practice squad without playing in a regular-season game, and he has been back in that role in 2024, playing three times as a practice-squad elevation.
Each NFL team can elevate two members of its practice squad to active status for each game.
