The Buffalo Bills set out with a goal of revamping one of the weaker wide receiver rooms in the NFL this offseason, and on Tuesday, they added another intriguing name to their list of additions.
The Bills officially claimed wide receiver Quentin Skinner off waivers from the New York Jets on Tuesday, per the league's transaction wire. Skinner signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Kansas last year and went on to appear in one game this past season.
In a corresponding move, the Bills released veteran wide receiver Devan Thompkins, who joined the team just last month. Buffalo has 14 total wide receivers on its 90-man roster at the time of writing.
At first glance, Skinner looks like another bottom-of-the-roster developmental receiver the Bills are taking a flier on after he spent last season with the Jets. But he also arrives in Buffalo with an unlikely claim to fame.
Bills claim former Jets WR Quentin Skinner off waivers
Skinner was the last player to score points at the original Highmark Stadium. Late in the Jets' Week 18 loss to the Bills last season, the former Kansas standout hauled in a two-point conversion that ultimately became the final scoring play ever recorded at the stadium before Buffalo moved into its new home.
The Bills won the game 35-8, but Skinner walked away with an unusual piece of franchise history that now follows him back to Buffalo. So yeah, I guess you can say he's already made Bills history.
Skinner is an intriguing developmental wide receiver who stands at 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds. The 24-year-old flashed in the preseason with the Jets last year, leading the team in receiving with eight catches for 114 yards and a touchdown.
Skinner wasn't able to make much of an impact in a lowly Jets wide receiver room last season, but the team clearly thought highly enough of him to bring him back for a second year with the organization.
Unfortunately, an undisclosed injury this spring landed him on the injured reserve, and the two sides would ultimately come to an agreement on an injury settlement this week. That allowed the Bills to swoop in and claim him off waivers.
Skinner will face an uphill battle to make the Bills' 53-man roster this summer, with the likes of D.J. Moore, Khalil Shakir, Skyler Bell, Keon Coleman, and Joshua Palmer all locked into roster spots (barring an unexpected trade).
That leaves potentially one final wide receiver spot for Skinner to compete with players like Tyrell Shavers, Mecole Hardman, Trent Sherfield, Jalen Virgil, and others.
If nothing else, Skinner will always have a unique place in Bills history. The last player to score at the original Highmark Stadium is now back in Buffalo wearing a Bills uniform.
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