Bills WR Justin Shorter Puts NFL on Notice: 'I'm Gonna Tear This League Up!'
New Buffalo Bills receiver Justin Shorter suddenly couldn't be heard from. He had lost connection on his Zoom call while meeting with the Bills media for the first time shortly after being drafted in the fifth round at No. 150 overall on Saturday.
Not necessarily an ideal start for the former Florida Gator, but he quickly got reconnected, admitting with a laugh that his phone blowing up with texts caused Zoom to crash on his end.
But if he lives up to the expectations he has for himself in the NFL, his phone won't stop being bombarded with messages anytime soon.
"I definitely know when I get my opportunity now I'm gonna definitely tear this league up cause I've been working for a long time," he said. "It's all gonna pay off."
Shorter enters the NFL as an experienced collegiate receiver, though he never quite hit elite-level marks during his five-year college career. Spending his first two seasons at Penn State, he caught passes from New England Patriots quarterback Trace McSorley before transferring to Florida, where he played with another NFL-caliber passer in Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Kyle Trask.
And of course, Shorter found himself on the receiving end of passes from No. 4 overall pick and new Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson last season at Florida. Despite only playing in nine games in 2022, Shorter finished with a career-high 577 receiving yards. As scouts watched Richardson, their attention also shifted toward one of his top receivers.
Shorter only caught 29 passes last season, but he's making it known that his competitiveness stretches beyond the stats. The Bills clearly agree, or they wouldn't have added him to a room where he could now potentially compete for the WR4 or WR5 role. And after seeing all the receivers taken ahead of him, he's looking to bring a fiery approach to the Bills, one that could benefit him when competing against his new teammates for playing time.
"I definitely would say I'm very competitive by nature, even if me and my family are playing UNO, I'll get all crazy," Shorter said. "But I just know every single wideout that went before me and I definitely know all the teams that picked them."
The stakes are now much higher than a friendly game of UNO. But don't expect Shorter's drive to change a bit.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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