90 Buffalo Bills players in 90 days: WR Tanner Gentry

The Buffalo Bills have a reliable stable of pass catchers who all have different skill sets. They have some burners, some possession types, some shifty slot players, and they even have a few players who combine all of those traits. While the team lost two big names this offseason in Emmanuel Sanders and Cole Beasley, they have more than adequate depth to replace those players.

Over the last two years, quarterback Josh Allen has developed into one of the NFL’s best players. That jump is attributable to Allen’s work ethic, but the importance of a strong receiving corps cannot be ignored.

In today’s edition of “90 players in 90 days,” we profile one of Buffalo’s fringe wideouts—a former college teammate of Josh Allen’s.

Name: Tanner Gentry

Number: 87

Position: WR

Height/Weight: 6’2” 209 lbs

Age: 27 (28 on 12/18/2022)

Experience/Draft: 1; signed with the Chicago Bears following the 2017 NFL Draft

College: Wyoming

Acquired: Signed with Buffalo’s practice squad on 1/4/2021

Financial situation (per Spotrac): Gentry signed a reserve/futures deal this past January, a two-year pact worth a total of $1.775 million. For the 2022 season, if he makes the 53-man roster, Gentry carries a cap hit of $830,000.

2021 Recap: Gentry spent the entire season on Buffalo’s practice squad. He did not appear in a game for Buffalo, and he has not appeared in an NFL game since his rookie year in 2017. In the 2021 preseason, he was targeted seven times. He caught five passes for 38 yards.

Positional outlook: Gentry remains on the outside looking in with one of Buffalo’s deepest positional groups. Veterans Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, and Jamison Crowder figure to top the squad in snaps, with Isaiah McKenzie and Jake Kumerow likely to be among the top six. Rookie Khalil Shakir has plenty of potential out of the slot. Marquez Stevenson is another returning player with speed and return ability. Neil Pau’u, Isaiah Hodgins, and Tavon Austin round out the group.

2022 Offseason: Gentry is healthy and he participated in OTAs. He’s ready for training camp in July.

2022 Season outlook: It’s hard to envision a scenario where Gentry makes the final roster, but it’s not a stretch to imagine him sticking on the practice squad. There’s just too much talent ahead of him here to make the case for a realistic push for a 53-man roster slot. Gentry is a bigger slot receiver, as is Isaiah Hodgins, so perhaps they’ll be battling for one spot on the practice squad, but even that isn’t a given. The Bills have so much talent here that they’re going to cut legitimate NFL talent, which is a welcome change from the drought years.