A preseason favorite as a rookie, Shorter could be a sneaky-good wideout in his second pro season
It’s no secret that the Buffalo Bills have turned over their wide receiver group this offseason. Gone are 2023 stalwarts Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis, as is return specialist Deonte Harty. The Bills have a host of new faces at wideout and, as a result, there are plenty of targets to be had.
Diggs and Davis combined for 241 targets, 152 receptions, 1,929 receiving yards, and 15 touchdowns last season. That is a lot of production up for grabs, and while the Bills certainly have a young, hungry group that is willing to step up and deliver, they have a lot of question marks at wide receiver.
In today’s edition of “91 players in 91 days,” we discuss a young player who was a preseason darling in 2023. He’s someone that many fans hope can sneak on the roster and develop into a legitimate threat.
Name: Justin Shorter
Number: 18
Position: WR
Height/Weight: 6’4”, 223 pounds
Age: 24 (25 on 4/17/2025)
Experience/Draft: 2; selected by the Bills in the fifth round (No. 150 overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft
College: Florida
Acquired: Fifth-round draft choice
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Shorter enters the second year of his rookie contract, a four-year pact worth a total of $4,163,948 overall. For the 2024 season, Shorter carries a cap hit of $875,987 if he makes the team. The Bills will carry a dead-cap charge of $242,961 if he’s released.
2023 Recap: Shorter was productive in the preseason for the Bills, and he was one of the more impressive targets in the exhibition games. He saw 11 targets, catching six passes for 66 yards and a score. He was tied for the team lead in receptions and yards during the preseason, and he trailed Marcell Ateman by just one receiving yard to finish second in that category. Shorter made Buffalo’s initial 53-man roster, but he was placed on Injured Reserve (IR) on August 30 thanks to a hamstring injury. The team opened his 21-day practice window in December once he was fully healthy, but the window closed without the Bills activating him from IR.
Positional outlook: Shorter joins a crowded receiver room that features plenty of new faces. Khalil Shakir, Tyrell Shavers, Bryan Thompson, and Andy Isabella are the only other wideouts who were with the team last season. The Bills added Keon Coleman via the draft, signed undrafted rookies Lawrence Keys and Xavier Johnson, and added veterans Mack Hollins, Chase Claypool, K.J. Hamler, Curtis Samuel, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling via free agency.
2024 Offseason: Shorter is healthy and has participated in offseason work to date.
2024 Season outlook: Shorter’s future is difficult to predict. The Bills have four players who feel like sure bets for the roster in Shakir, Coleman, Samuel, and Valdes-Scantling. Whether the team wants to keep six or seven receivers goes a long way towards telling me how I feel about Shorter’s chances at the final squad.
Given that Shorter contributed on special teams last preseason, it leads me to believe that he has a good shot at making the team. However, he has to fend off Claypool (whose upside is tremendous if he can show some dedication and maturity), Hamler (whose upside is tremendous if he can stay healthy), Isabella (who played a handful of meaningful snaps for the Bills last season), and Hollins (who likely has the inside shot at WR5 given his leadership and his ability on special teams).
I could see Shorter realistically being considered anywhere from WR5 to WR9. If I were a gambler, though, I’d say he likely has the edge on Hamler and Isabella, as those guys would be easier to stash on a practice squad. He’s likely behind Hollins, as a $1.1 million dead-cap figure signifies that the Bills intend for the veteran to make the roster.
That puts Shorter in a 1 v. 1 battle with Claypool for that WR6 spot, as I don’t think the team will keep seven wideouts. If Claypool looks like the version of himself that caught 121 passes for 1,733 yards and 11 scores in his first two seasons, that’s going to be hard to beat. If he looks more like the guy who has bounced between three teams in the last two seasons thanks to poor play and general buffoonery, then Shorter has a clear edge.
This is one of those fringe battlegrounds that will occupy plenty of space on this website and most others dedicated to covering the Buffalo Bills for much of the summer. If it were me making the call, though, he’d be on the roster as the last wideout.