90 players in 90 days: Tight end Quintin Morris

The Buffalo Bills have been linked to improvements at the tight end position all throughout the offseason. With mostly unsubstantiated rumors swirling about acquiring a veteran like Zach Ertz, general manager Brandon Beane has continued to make under-the-radar additions to the positional group in hopes of shoring up the unit as a whole.

The Bills have a diverse group of athletes vying for time at tight end, and in today’s edition of “90 players in 90 days,” we profile one of the younger members of the group.

Name: Quintin Morris

Number: 85

Position: TE

Height/Weight: 6’2” 252 lbs

Age: 22 (23 on 1/21/2022)

Experience/Draft: R; signed with Buffalo as UDFA following 2021 NFL Draft

College: Bowling Green

Acquired: UDFA signing

Financial situation (per Spotrac): The Bills signed Morris to a three-year contract worth a total of $2,437,000 overall. Of that total, the Bills guaranteed $37,000, so if he doesn’t make the team this year, that number is the whole dead-cap charge Buffalo will be charged. If Morris makes the final roster, he’ll carry a salary cap hit of $664,000 this season.

2020 Recap: Morris started in all five of Bowling Green’s games and, for the second consecutive season, he was the team’s leader in both receptions and receiving yards. In 2019, Morris caught 55 passes for 649 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games. Last year, he caught 20 passes for 248 yards in five games. He was All-MAC First-Team last year as voted by the coaches.

Positional outlook: Morris joins a group that has plenty of players with plenty to prove. Dawson Knox, Jacob Hollister, Tommy Sweeney, Reggie Gilliam, and Nate Becker all have experience either in the NFL or with the Bills (and in the case of all but Hollister, both).

2021 Offseason: Morris is healthy and he has participated in offseason activities.

2021 Season outlook: While the chances are slim at best that Morris cracks the roster this year, his profile is definitely intriguing, and he’s a prime candidate for the practice squad this year. He’s a former college wide receiver like another former Buffalo tight end—Jason Croom—so the team has some experience with a player learning the position. Dawson Knox is another player who came to the tight end position in college, having played quarterback prior to that. Lance Zierlein notes that Morris was hindered by carrying too much bulk last year, as it limited his already minimal ability to separate. Finding his ideal weight and continuing to learn the nuance of the position could land the Bills a steal. But even if the best-case scenario doesn’t pan out, a former basketball player and wide receiver with great red-zone instincts is always worth a practice squad flier. Throw in the fact that the Bills don’t have a bona fide stud at the position, and it seems like a no-brainer to keep someone like Morris around if he shows any ability at all in camp.