Bills release Tyler Bass' competition from practice squad, add familiar WR

The Buffalo Bills have signed wide receiver Deon Cain to their practice squad, releasing kicker Lucas Havrisik in a corresponding move.

Kyle Silagyi | Oct 31, 2024

Kevin Whitlock / Massillon Independent / USA TODAY NETWORK

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A familiar face has returned to One Bills Drive, as the Buffalo Bills have re-signed wide receiver Deon Cain to their practice squad. The team released kicker Lucas Havrisik from the reserve unit in a corresponding move.

Cain, 28, was a sixth-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in the 2018 NFL Draft. He spent his rookie season on the injured reserve list and appeared in seven games for the Colts in his sophomore campaign, catching four passes for 52 yards. He was waived by Indianapolis midway through the 2019 campaign and was promptly signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he caught five passes for 72 yards over parts of two seasons.

The pass-catcher has since bounced around several teams in several leagues, winning back-to-back USFL and UFL Championships with the Birmingham Stallions in 2023 and 2024. He wasn’t an overly productive offensive contributor throughout the 2023 USFL season, catching 16 passes for 182 yards. He was an impactful special teams contributor, however, recording 668 yards on kick returns; he caught three touchdown passes in the 2023 USFL Championship game in an unexpected breakout performance, earning USFL Championship game MVP honors.

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He joined the Bills as a depth signing in mid-August, catching three passes for 28 yards. He made Buffalo’s initial practice squad but was released to make room for former Denver Broncos wideout Jalen Virgil ahead of Week 1; he’s spent most of the 2024 season thus far on the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad. He joins Virgil, Tyrell Shavers, and K.J. Hamler as receivers on the Bills’ reserve unit.

The release of Havrisik indicates that Buffalo’s faith in veteran kicker Tyler Bass has been restored some; the Bills signed Havrisik to the practice squad in mid-October as Bass was making just 75% of his field goals and 90% of his extra points. Bass hasn’t missed a kick over the past two games; his woes aren’t necessarily behind him just yet, but the team has apparently seen enough to part ways with their reinforcement.

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