After losing Pro Bowl returner Andre Roberts in free agency, the Buffalo Bills had the spot empty on their depth chart for quite a while. They re-signed Isaiah McKenzie this week and many of us presumed that might be it until the 2021 NFL Draft, but on Friday, the Bills hosted three returners.
In addition to signing punt returner Brandon Powell, Buffalo hosted Tyler Ervin (via Field Yates) and Mathew Sexton (via The Spring League) on free agent visits Friday. Ervin is a running back most recently of the Green Bay Packers who handled both kickoffs and punts. Sexton is a former returner and wide receiver for Eastern Michigan University but wasn’t able to latch on with an NFL team after the 2020 NFL Draft.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane likes to create competition and this is one way to do it, bringing in three guys at the same position in one day and letting the cream rise to the top.
No word yet on if the Bills will end up signing more than one of these players, but will Powell agreeing to terms and McKenzie already under contract, it’s probably likely Buffalo is done adding returners for now.