Yesterday, during a media session, Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan was asked this question:
Is Dez Lewis a consideration to come off the practice squad with how banged up the wide receivers corps is?
Rex’s response: "We’ll see. There may be somebody else too that we look at."
After that, a follow-up question was posed:
When you say there could be somebody else at receiver, do you mean a free agent or a trade or what are you…
Rex’s response: “No, it could be somebody on our practice squad that we’ll look at.”
Hmmm... so, who could that possibly be?
If the Bills do plan to call up a receiver from their practice squad for the tilt with the Patriots, they have three options. Let’s examine.
Option No. 1: Dez Lewis
The much-maligned second-year practice squader who has displayed an occasional flash of his abilities but struggled with drops at training camp this summer and in the preseason. By now you know about Lewis. He’s nearly 6’4”, 215 pounds and was Buffalo’s seventh-round pick in 2015.
On the surface, Lewis would seem like the likeliest and most logical call up, simply due to his time spent in Buffalo’s offense, but he wasn’t on the active roster against the Dolphins. That’s telling.
Option No. 2: Corey Washington
Washington was added to the Bills’ practice squad on October 4. He’s the exact same size as Lewis, at about 6’3” 1⁄2 and 215 pounds. Also like Lewis, he played at a small school (Newberry). However, Washington was not selected in the 2014 draft. That year, he was named NFL.com’s preseason MVP after he scored a game-winning touchdown for New York in all four exhibition outings.
Yes, I know... it’s just the preseason. But it shows that Washington has, at the very least, NFL-caliber talent. That season, Washington appeared in 14 games, mainly on special teams, and caught five passes for 52 yards with a touchdown.
Option No. 3: Ed Eagan
Eagan is an undrafted free-agent rookie, who played his collegiate ball at Northwestern State. He’s 5’10, 195-ish pounds.
Here’s what NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote in the “bottom line” portion of Eagan’s draft profile: “Eagan's ability to return kicks and punts could loom large as he attempts to fight for a roster spot this summer and into the fall.” To me, Eagan is the least likely choice for the active roster, but Rex did say “there may be someone else we look at” after he was asked if Lewis could be this week’s practice-squad call up.
My prediction (and who I think it should be): Corey Washington