Versatile Bills WR unfairly dubbed a ‘free agency bust’ through three games

Bleacher Report identified Buffalo Bills wideout Curtis Samuel as an early free agency bust. Here's why that's unfair.

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It’s difficult to have any complaints about the Buffalo Bills’ offense through the first three games of the 2024 campaign. Quarterback Josh Allen is an early MVP favorite after constructing an immensely impressive total touchdown-to-turnover ratio of nine-to-one through three weeks, leading an offensive attack that is currently leading the league in points per game with 37.3. He’s connected with 10 different pass-catchers throughout the season, giving early credence to the ‘everyone eats’ offensive approach that the team often spoke about throughout the summer.

One player who perhaps hasn’t been as heavily featured as initially anticipated is Curtis Samuel, who inked a three-year deal with the Bills in March. Signed after former No. 2 wideout Gabriel Davis left for Jacksonville, Samuel was initially anticipated to serve as a versatile complementary option opposite Stefon Diggs; his projected role was amplified after Buffalo traded the perennial Pro Bowler to the Houston Texans in April.

Several fans and national pundits expected Samuel to be one of Allen’s go-to weapons in the Bills’ reworked offense, but he’s only caught six passes for 40 yards through three weeks. He missed two of Buffalo’s three preseason games with turf toe, an ailment that may be the primary reason for his only playing on 46 snaps this season. Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon doesn’t necessarily think his injury is playing too significant of a role in his non-usage, circling the 28-year-old as a player who is “already look[ing] like [a] free agency bust” in a recent article for the outlet.

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“One of the receivers added in the wake of the Buffalo Bills trading Stefon Diggs and not re-signing Gabe Davis, Curtis Samuel has been a non-factor in the earliest weeks of 2024,” Kenyon wrote. “Yes, there may be a reasonable asterisk with a turf-toe injury that has slowed him since mid-August. But is that actually a factor?

“Despite being active each weekend this season, Samuel has appeared in just 26.9 percent of snaps. Mack Hollins (66.7 percent), rookie Keon Coleman (62.0) and Khalil Shakir (57.9) are well ahead, and even Marquez Valdes-Scantling (38.6) has been more involved. Buffalo surely didn't envision Samuel only rounding out the rotation when it signed him for three years and $24 million.”

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It seems a bit premature to label Samuel—or any offseason addition—a bust at this juncture, as three games is not a large enough sample size. That said, it seems particularly unfair to deem Samuel a potential bust given his aforementioned turf toe; it’s typically an injury that lingers depending on severity, and given the fact that the team never disclosed the grade of his ailment, we truly don’t know how much it’s impacting his snap count. To simply acknowledge Samuel’s injury before asking if it’s “actually a factor” seems obtuse, especially considering the wideout’s experience with offensive coordinator Joe Brady.

Samuel’s best production as a professional—his 1,051 scrimmage yard season with the Carolina Panthers in 2020—came with Brady as his play-caller. The offensive coordinator oft-praised the pass-catcher throughout the offseason, stating that he was set to do “a little bit of everything” in the offense; logic would dictate that he would be using Samuel more if doing so was a possibility.

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It’s also not entirely accurate to describe Samuel as a “non-factor,” as his versatility makes him a player that defenses must acknowledge on his (thus far scant) reps. Look no further than James Cook’s receiving touchdown against the Miami Dolphins in Week 2 for evidence of this; Samuel was an integral part of the score, motioning pre-snap to create confusion that allowed Cook to sneak out unattended in the flat.

It’s certainly possible that Samuel’s role in the offense won’t grow and he’ll ultimately be viewed as a ‘free agency bust,’ but this seems highly unlikely given the aforementioned factors (his injury and past experience with/success under Brady). Expect the versatile wideout’s offensive presence to increase as soon as his body allows for it to do so.

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