Bills BREAKING: Ex 1st-Round Pick Shane Ray Signs in Emotional NFL Comeback

Shane Ray returns to the NFL after stint in Canada, signs with Buffalo Bills

Shane Ray is making an improbable return to the NFL after a stint in Canada as on Saturday he signed with the Buffalo Bills

“So many tears, sleepless nights, depression, everything that comes with losing the game,” Ray wrote in a post on his social media. “So many days of having nothing but hope while fighting an uphill battle. There were times that I thought maybe I should give up, but I wouldn’t be me if I folded. Even in my darkest moments, I believed in myself.”

Ray was in Buffalo for a minicamp tryout with the Bills this week after spending two seasons in the CFL. … and after being out of the NFL for half a decade, 

Ray, a former first-round draft pick of the Denver Broncos, last played in an NFL game in the 2018 season but has been working to get back into the league.

Ray was selected 23rd overall by the Broncos in the 2015 NFL Draft. 

During his rookie season, Ray, who turns 30 this month, recorded four sacks and appeared in 14 games for the Super Bowl champion Broncos.

Ray, 6-3 and 255, eventually signed with the Baltimore Ravens in 2019 but was released in August. He took two years off before re-emerging with the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League. Ray started 13 games for Toronto last season and notched six sacks.

Ray endured  and overcame a difficult childhood to achieve his goal in his first go around. And now he’s earned a second chance.

“I believed in my preparation,” Ray said. “I believed that I would have another opportunity even if the world didn’t believe.”

There are no roster guarantees from here for Shane Ray. But for now? The Buffalo Bills believe as well.

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983. He is the author of two best-selling books on the NFL.