NFL Player News

The Bills signed Byrd to a contract Monday, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.

Byrd spent most of last season on Atlanta's practice squad, though he got into one game with the Falcons and logged 18 offensive snaps, recording zero catches on two targets. The veteran wideout's best NFL campaign came in 2020 with New England, when he caught 47 passes for 604 yards and a touchdown. Byrd also has experience as a kick and punt returner, though most of his work in that capacity came early in his career. He joins a Buffalo wide-receiver room that looks dramatically different than last season due to the departures of Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis.

The Chargers signed Wooden on Monday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Wooden was waived by Atlanta less than two weeks ago, and he's already found a new home with the Chargers. Los Angeles has one of the weaker wide receiver rooms in the league, so he presumably has as good or better a chance of earning reps as he would with any other squad.

The Texans waived Janke on Monday, Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Janke, who signed with the Texans as an undrafted free agent back in April, will now head to waivers. The 24-year-old will now look for another opportunity elsewhere.

The Lions waived Green (concussion) with an injury designation Monday.

Green was a seventh-round pick by Detroit in 2023, but he will now head to waivers. The 24-year-old will look to catch on with another team after he recovers from a concussion suffered during last week's preseason matchup versus the Giants.

Shakir caught all three targets for 28 yards during Saturday's 33-6 preseason loss to the Bears.

You will probably hear this nugget several times before fantasy drafts are over, but Shakir is the only wideout on the roster to ever catch a pass from Josh Allen. With Stefon Diggs off to Houston and Gabe Davis moving to the Jaguars, Shakir may be the best bet for fantasy production among the Buffalo wideout corps. However, rookie Keon Coleman is showing promise while veteran Curtis Samuel figures to see a number of touches in a jack-of-all-trades role, while running back James Cook and tight end Dalton Kincaid figure to factor in heavily in the passing game.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters Monday that Bell "took a good shot" to his quadriceps in Saturday's preseason loss to the Packers, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Stefanski added that he expects Bell to be held out of team drills for the next week or two while nursing his injury. Bell caught his lone target for five yards before exiting in the first half of Saturday's contest. The 2022 third-round pick has had an excellent training camp and is expected to make the Browns' 53-man roster as a depth wide receiver behind Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy (leg) and Elijah Moore.

Thompson suffered a hamstring injury in Saturday's 33-6 loss to the Bears, Chris Brown of the Bills Radio Network reports.

Thompson failed to record any stats in the defeat, but he did pick up an injury in the process. The wide receiver was described as week-to-week by head coach Sean McDermott, putting his availability in question for Saturday's matchup with the Steelers.

Shorter (knee) returned to practice Monday, Katherine Fitzgerald of The Buffalo News reports.

Shorter is healthy once again after sitting out practice last week due to a knee injury. The 24-year-old will now compete for a roster spot as a backup receiver after missing the entirety of last season with a hamstring injury.

Brown started Saturday's preseason loss to the Jets and caught two of three targets for 55 yards.

Brown had a 42-yard gain on the third play of the game, catching a perfectly thrown deep pass from rookie QB Jayden Daniels. Brown continued playing well into the second quarter and caught a 13-yard pass from third-string QB Jeff Driskel on an afternoon when Terry McLaurin was the only Washington wideout to be pulled from the game at the same time as Daniels. Probable No. 2 receiver Jahan Dotson also played throughout the first half, and rookie third-round pick Luke McCaffrey got each of his three targets after halftime. Brown thus seems to be in the mix for a top-3 role, primarily competing with Dotson, McCaffrey and Olamide Zaccheaus for playing time behind McLaurin.

McCaffrey caught two of three targets for 25 yards in the second half of a preseason loss to the Jets on Saturday.

The third-round pick played 31 snaps, with nearly all of those coming in the second half as part of the third- and fourth-string offenses. That's not usually the best sign in terms of Week 1 role, but it matters less for a rookie, especially during the opening week of the preseason. McCaffrey is still a candidate to eventually earn a top-3 role in a WR room where nothing appears guaranteed besides Terry McLaurin being the No. 1.