Every season, there’s at least one player who comes into Buffalo Bills training camp as a forgettable face and leaves in serious contention for a roster spot. There are a couple of guys with that distinction this year, including one veteran receiver who comes to the team from one of last year’s cellar dwellers.
Name: Rod Streater
# 8
Position: WR
Height/Weight: 6’3”, 200 lbs.
Experience: 6
College: Temple
Draft: UDFA (2012)
Financial Situation (per Spotrac): Streater signed a one-year deal with a non-guaranteed base salary of $775,000.
2016 Recap: In 16 games with the San Francisco 49ers last year, Streater caught 18 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns. None of those numbers were better than seventh-best among the woebegone 49ers pass catchers. Streater saved his best performance for the Niners’ Week 16 win over the Los Angeles Rams, catching six passes for 63 yards and a touchdown.
Positional Outlook: The Bills didn’t have many locks to make the roster at receiver, and the signing of Taiwan Jones a few days ago puts Brandon Tate’s status up in the air. Walt Powell is suspended for the first four games of the season and won’t factor into any decisions on the final 53 to open the season.
2017 Offseason: Streater was signed by the Bills in May, as part of a move to backfill the release of offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio. He seemed to be on the fringe of the roster until camp opened, when he started providing plenty of highlights. Sean McDermott has called Streater “one of the highlights of camp so far”.
2017 Season Outlook: If I had touched on Streater a month ago, I probably would have brushed him off in favor of someone like Tate or Daikiel Shorts. At this point, though, he’s definitely put himself in a favorable position. That said, as Dezmin Lewis showed us last year, you have to keep that going through the preseason. If Streater can show up through August, he should make the team.