The Buffalo Bills have a fairly clear top-four at the wide receiver position. Some might even argue that the top five wideouts are already close to written in Sharpie. However, there is still a lot of time between now and the 2025 NFL season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on September 7.
The Bills are more likely to line up with two tight ends on the field at the same time than they are to line up with four wide receivers on the field at once, so there’s no need for them to keep more than six
on the final roster. It’s even possible that they keep five, especially if the players battling for that sixth spot all show themselves unworthy of a spot on the 53-man roster.
In today’s edition of “90 players in 90 days,” we discuss one of those receivers trying to make the 53-man roster this summer.
Name: Laviska Shenault Jr.
Number: 15
Position: WR
Height/Weight: 6’1”, 227 pounds
Age: 26 (27 on 10/5/2025)
Experience/Draft: 6; selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round (No. 42 overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft
College: Colorado
Acquired: Signed with Buffalo on 3/13/2025
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Shenault signed a one-year contract worth $1.21 million in total. For the season, he carries a cap hit of $1.07 million if he makes the 53-man roster. If he’s released prior to Week 1, Buffalo will carry a dead-cap charge of $15,000 for the season. IF he is on the roster for Week 1, Shenault’s entire base salary — $1.17 million — becomes guaranteed thanks to his status as a vested veteran.
2024 Recap: After ending his 2023 season with the Carolina Panthers on Injured Reserve, Shenault signed with the Seattle Seahawks in the offseason. He was seldom used on offense, playing just 45 offensive snaps with the Seahawks over the course of 11 games. He caught all five of his targets for 36 receiving yards, and he rushed once for one yard.
His primary use with the Seahawks as a kickoff returner, where he totaled 459 yards and a touchdown on 16 returns (28.7 yards per kickoff return). He also had five tackles on special teams. After Seattle’s Week 13 victory over the New York Jets, a game where he had two kickoff returns for just 10 yards and fumbled one of his attempts, he was waived on December 2.
He signed to the Los Angeles Chargers’ practice squad on December 5 and was activated for one game. He played seven offensive snaps and 13 special teams snaps in Los Angeles’ 40-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Chargers released him on January 7.
Positional outlook: Shenault is one of 13 wideouts in camp to begin the summer. Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel, Elijah Moore, Joshua Palmer, K.J. Hamler, Kelly Akhariyi, Stephen Gosnell, Kaden Prather, Kristian Wilkerson, Jalen Virgil, and Tyrell Shavers are the others.
2025 Offseason: Shenault is healthy and participating in offseason work to date.
2025 Season outlook: There are four wideouts who I would consider roster locks — Shakir, Coleman, Samuel, and Palmer — and one more, Elijah Moore, who I would call as close to a lock as possible. That realistically leaves eight players battling for one spot on the roster, as I don’t see the Bills keeping seven wideouts. I believe that battle comes down to Shenault, Virgil, Shavers, and Hamler, with Wilkerson a dark-horse candidate to break in depending on his offseason.
Given what the role of a sixth wideout would likely entail, it’s going to come down to what other things a player can do. Can he serve as a gunner on special teams? Can he return kicks? Can he block? Can he sub in on offense at multiple receiver positions? Shenault checks all of those boxes, and he has the success (his kick return numbers) and the athletic profile/draft pedigree as a former second-round pick that most of the other players in the wide receiver gallimaufry don’t have.
Shenault wasn’t terribly productive as a receiver when he actually had the opportunity to be so during his first two seasons in the league. However, he did catch 121 passes for 1,219 yards and five scores on a pair of Jaguars offenses that were just putrid.
The 2020 Jaguars went 1-15 under old friend Doug Marrone, and Shenault led the team in catches, serving as a safety blanket for the three-headed, erm, “monster” that was Gardner Minshew III, Mike Glennon, and Jake Luton (who?!) at quarterback. The following season, the Jags were 3-14 under Urban Meyer, and Shenault was second in both receptions and receiving yards catching passes from rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
While it’s fair to say that Shenault hasn’t lived up to his draft status, it’s also hard to overlook the fact that he played on two dreadful offenses (No. 30 in scoring in 2020; No. 32 in scoring in 2021) in Jacksonville before moving on to two more dreadful offenses with the Carolina Panthers in 2022 (No. 20 in scoring) and 2023 (No. 31 in scoring). He’s still young, he can play outside and in the slot, he can return kicks, and he can serve as a gunner on special teams.
To me, the sixth wideout position is his to lose. He’s a better receiver than Virgil, a better special-teams player than Hamler and Shavers, and a better overall player than Wilkerson. He’s not someone I want in the lineup on fourth down with the AFC Championship Game on the line, but if given the choice between him and the other options listed in this paragraph, I’m likely taking him. I believe he’ll make the roster as one of the last guys picked this summer.
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