Greg Dortch's NFL career has new life.
And it's where his life began.
The Buffalo Bills are signing the veteran wide receiver and return specialist to their practice squad, according to multiple reports.
Dortch was born in Rochester in 1998 before his family moved to Virginia when he was young.
He's returning to western New York with a chance to help solve one of the Bills' biggest special teams problems: returning punts. Buffalo didn't have an experienced punt returner on its initial 53-man roster.
Dortch, 28, averaged 11.6 yards on 16 punt returns for the Arizona Cardinals last season, ranking 11th in the NFL. The Bills averaged only 6.5 yards per punt return on 30 attempts in 2025, ranking 28th in the league.
Buffalo spent training camp searching
for an answer at the position.
The Bills used Ray Davis, Keon Coleman, Mecole Hardman, Skyler Bell and Khalil Shakir as punt returners during training camp. Davis muffed a punt in the preseason finale against the Steelers. Hardman made the Pro Bowl as a return specialist in 2019, but he was released during final roster cuts.
Dortch has returned 99 punts for 886 yards during his NFL career, along with 75 kickoffs for 1,773 yards. He has also caught 145 passes for 1,310 yards and 10 touchdowns. Dortch has improved his punt return average in each of the last three seasons, going from 6.6 yards in 2022 to 9.5 in 2023, 9.6 in 2024 and 11.6 last season.
The 5-foot-7, 180-pound receiver spent the previous five seasons with the Cardinals before signing a one-year contract with the Detroit Lions in March. Detroit released him during final roster cuts Sunday.
Dortch already has connections to the Bills' coaching staff.
Bills wide receivers coach Drew Terrell and special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers both coached Dortch in Arizona. Terrell spent five seasons with the Cardinals before joining Buffalo this offseason, while Rodgers was Arizona's special teams coordinator during Dortch's time with the team.
Dortch's path to Buffalo has been a long one since leaving Rochester as a child.
He attended Highland Springs High School in Virginia and went to Wake Forest, where he became one of college football's top return specialists. Dortch was a first-team All-American in 2018 after returning two punts for touchdowns.
He went undrafted in 2019 and bounced between the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons before finding a home in Arizona.
His best receiving season came in 2022, when he caught 52 passes for 467 yards and two touchdowns. He had 29 receptions for 206 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games last season before a chest injury landed him on injured reserve.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills reportedly adding veteran return specialist who was born in Rochester
