90 Buffalo Bills players in 90 days: TE Quintin Morris

The Buffalo Bills finally seem to have embraced a modern approach to the NFL tight end, prioritizing receiving ability over in-line blocking. While it doesn’t seem like much, this has been a big step towards modernizing their offense over the last few years. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that they have an absolute monster playing quarterback, but a tight end who is a threat all over the field gives defenses headaches.

While the Bills have modernized their offense, they haven’t built a ton of depth at tight end over the years. Last season, for example, they essentially played with one person at the position, choosing to leave the backup tight end inactive on game days at times rather than have two dressed. This will probably change this year due to an upgrade in personnel, which means that there is a potential roster opening for a third tight end on the 53-man roster.

In today’s edition of “90 players in 90 days,” we profile one of the young players battling for that third roster spot.

Name: Quintin Morris

Number: 85

Position: TE

Height/Weight: 6’2” 252 lbs

Age: 23 (24 on 1/21/2023)

Experience/Draft: 1; signed with Bills following the 2021 NFL Draft

College: Bowling Green

Acquired: UDFA signing

Financial situation (per Spotrac): Morris signed a two-year deal with Buffalo this offseason, a reserve/futures contract worth a total of $1.575 million. He carries a cap hit of $705,000 this year if he makes the team, and none of the money in the contract is guaranteed.

2021 Recap: Morris spent the offseason with Buffalo, but he was released prior to the regular season as part of the team’s roster purge to 53 players. He immediately signed to the practice squad, and he was a member of the practice squad for the entire season. In Buffalo’s Week 9 embarrassment contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Morris was elevated to the active roster, where he technically made his professional debut. I say technically because, while he was active, he did not take a snap—so he has yet to play in a pro game that counts. In the preseason last year, he was targeted twice, catching one pass for five yards.

Positional outlook: Morris rejoins a slightly rebuilt tight end group, led by Dawson Knox and newcomer O.J. Howard. Tommy Sweeney also returns, and Buffalo added undrafted rookie Jalen Wydermyer following the 2022 NFL Draft.

2022 Offseason: Morris is healthy and he’s participated in all OTAs to date.

2022 Season outlook: As a converted wide receiver, Morris brings some athletic promise to the table; however, he isn’t nearly the athlete that Knox, Sweeney, or Howard are, and he hasn’t been as productive as Wydermyer was in college, either. He may have a year on the latter in the system, but I view Morris as a solid fifth out of five among the team’s tight ends. He’s probably ticketed for the practice squad again in his best-case scenario, though a strong showing in the preseason could change that trajectory.