When the Buffalo Bills decided to move on from Gabe Davis and sign wideout Curtis Samuel last season, it showed us that Buffalo was looking to get a little more versatility from their wide receiver room. Samuel, who had spent time in Carolina in Washington, had demonstrated to not only catch passes from the outside but also play a little bit of running back as well.
The Bills signed Samuel to a three-year, $24 million deal. He was originally projected to be the WR2 next to Stefon Diggs, until the Bills traded Diggs not too long after bringing in Samuel.
Unfortunately for Samuel, he was anything but productive with the Bills in 2024. In 14 games, Samuel had just 253 receiving yards and one touchdown. He also only had nine first-downs. Samuel had just one game above 50+ receiving yards in the regular season and didn’t have more than 60+ yards in a game until the first round of the playoffs.
He was a major disappointment no matter how you try to spin it. Whether it was because of the lack of involvement from the offensive scheme, or if he just simply wasn’t a true factor like we all thought he was going to be, Samuel served almost no purpose in Buffalo last season.
Could Curtis Samuel be one-and-done with Bills?
Kristopher Knox from Bleacher Report listed Samuel as a potential cut-candidate for the Bills heading into the 2025 season (and it’s not the worst move for the Bills to make).
"The Bills are chasing a championship and could decide that an extra roster spot is more valuable than Samuel's price hit. After adding Joshua Palmer, Elijah Moore and rookie Kaden Prather this offseason, Buffalo could view Samuel as expendable."Kristopher Knox, Bleacher Report
The Bills not only added Joshua Palmer and Elijah Moore as veteran presence, but they also extended Khalil Shakir to a four-year deal. Not to mention, Keon Coleman is going into the second year of his rookie deal.
If Beane decides that this wide receiver room is too crowded and Samuel isn’t worth the contract that he gave him a year ago, then it should be no surprise to see Samuel get released from Buffalo before the 2025 season.
The only important factor to consider is that if the Bills were to release Samuel, they would take on a $12 million dead cap hit, according to Spotrac. So, that itself might keep Samuel on the roster. However, Beane has taken on a dead cap hit before when it comes to letting go of a specific receiver that Bills fans should be very familiar with.