'Shrewd' Bills' free-agent signing means WR competition 'should be fierce'

Realistically, as it appears at this point, there are five wide receivers competing for one spot on the Buffalo Bills' 53-man roster and that's with automatically dismissing any of the three undrafted rookie signings.

The good news for former New York Jets' second-round pick Elijah Moore is that he's one of the five. The Bills signed Moore to a one-year contract following a free-agent visit last week.

The 25-year-old Moore had a falling out with the Jets, submitting trade requests on multiple occasions before eventually being dealt to the Cleveland Browns in March 2023. After not missing a game in two seasons with the Browns, the Ole Miss product hit the free-agent market as his rookie contract expired.

Sports Illustrated senior NFL reporter Albert Breer didn't think Moore was going to last as long as he did on the market before signing.

"I was a little surprised Elijah Moore was still available after the draft, so I think it was shrewd for the Buffalo Bills to take a flier on the former Browns and Jets slot receiver. Competition for roster spots at receiver in Buffalo’s training camp should be fierce," said Breer in his MMQB Takeaways post.

Moore, who caught 120 of 206 receiving targets for 1,178 yards over 34 games for Cleveland, will go up against three Bills' practice squad players and a seventh-round rookie in the months ahead.

"I mean, they have so many that there's not room for all of them right now," said ESPN insider Adam Schefter while opining on the Moore signing during an appearance on One Bills Live.

Former Denver Broncos' second-round WR KJ Hamler is one of the three after spending the entire 2024 campaign with the Bills. While Hamler was not active on gamedays for Buffalo, wide receivers Tyrell Shavers and Jalen Virgil combined for 10 appearance last year.

After the Bills used their final draft pick on Maryland's Kaden Prather, the rookie receiver will get a look due to his combination of size and speed.

Moore may be an exciting proposition, but he'll have a fight on his hands to prevent himself from winding up as this year's Chase Claypool.