Buffalo Bills sign former XFL wide receiver Marcell Ateman

It appears the Buffalo Bills are unlikely to add DeAndre Hopkins with recent reporting by The Athletic's Tim Graham but that hasn't stopped them from adding to the wide receiver position. On Thursday, the Bills had wide receivers Preston Williams and Marcell Ateman in for a tryout with Ateman impressing the team enough to earn a one-year contract.

Ateman was a seventh round pick by the Raiders in the 2018 NFL Draft and would play in 19 games over three seasons. He would also have six starts, which all came during his rookie season, and for his career he has 20 receptions, 270 receiving yards and one touchdown.

He hasn't played an NFL regular season game since the 2021 season but has played professional football recently in the XFL this year as a member of the St. Louis Battlehawks. In seven games, Ateman had 19 receptions and 257 receiving yards with his best game of the season being the second to last game when he had seven receptions and 99 receiving yards.

Marcell Ateman gives the Buffalo Bills more size at wide receiver

The Buffalo Bills recently have not had much size at wide receiver with a group of wide receivers that has consisted of Stefon Diggs, John Brown and Cole Beasley over the years. However, this offseason the focus has appeared to give Josh Allen bigger targets with the addition of Dalton Kincaid and Justin Shorter.

That trend continues here as Marcell Ateman is a big wide receiver at 6'4" and the Bills released Braydon Johnson, who is only 5'11", to create the roster spot for Ateman.

At this point, Marcell Ateman is probably a long shot to make the roster and more than anything is probably competing for a spot on the practice squad. However, the addition does highlight the trend of the Bills getting bigger on offense, particularly with their playmakers.