Bills Veteran OT Brandon Shell Unexpectedly Retiring

Brandon Shell is set to retire from the NFL after his first preseason game with the Buffalo Bills.

Per multiple reports, Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Brandon Shell intends to announce his retirement. Shell did not partake in the Bills Tuesday training camp activities.

Set to partake in his eighth NFL year out of South Carolina, Shell entered the pros as a fifth-round pick of the New York Jets' in 2016. He partook in 70 NFL games, starting 61, including 11 with the Miami Dolphins last season. In addition to his AFC East endeavors, Shell, the 31-year-old nephew of former Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders blocker/head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Art Shell, also played two years with the Seattle Seahawks (2020-21).

Shell earned the praise of his Miami coaches last year, namely Dolphins boss Mike McDaniel.

“He continues to impress,” McDaniel said last October, via the Palm Beach Post. “I’ve been very proud of him. He’s fitting right into the culture, continues to get better, and is a real strong dude that understands angles and how to block people. So, it’s been fun to watch him develop, and he’s making our offensive line group as a whole better by his good play.”

"I've got nothing but good things to say about that guy," Dolphins offensive line coach Matt Applebaum said in the same report. "He had good tape at Seattle, so we were fortunate to be able to get him when we did. He needed to get into shape, and he's done everything we've asked - he got into shape quickly. He's really smart and works at it and picked up our offense quickly."

Buffalo signed Shell on June 1 and was set to compete for a depth spot on the outside. His departure would leave the Bills hurting for experience in the latter parts of the depth chart as they're now working with a relative hodgepodge of veterans that haven't taken the field and undrafted arrivals beyond names like Tommy Doyle and David Quessenberry. Shell appeared on 18 snaps in Buffalo's 23-19 preseason-opening victory over the Indianapolis Colts last Saturday.

The Bills (1-0) return to action on Saturday when they face the Pittsburgh Steelers this Saturday evening (6:30 p.m. ET, WIVB). 

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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