On the heels of trading a second-round pick for former Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore and a fifth-round pick, the Buffalo Bills have released wide receiver Curtis Samuel.
Buffalo Bills Release Curtis Samuel Amid DJ Moore Addition
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bills have released Samuel.
The Bills originally signed Samuel to a three-year, $24 million deal on March 14, 2024. According to Over the Cap, the total guaranteed money was just over $14 million, and cutting him with a pre-June 1 designation will yield cap savings of just over $6 million, with $3.45 million in dead money.
However, a post-June 1 designation would have saved close to $8 million in cap space, but $1.725 million in dead money.
Source: Bills are releasing WR Curtis Samuel.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 6, 2026
As PFSN’s Tanner Cappellini pointed out, the Bills’ wide receiver depth chart after acquiring Moore also includes Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir, and, until now, Samuel.
As Cappellini also points out, Samuel saw just nine targets last season. He was placed on injured reserve on November 28, 2025, with an elbow injury, but returned for the AFC Divisional Round matchup against the Denver Broncos. He caught one pass on three targets for two yards in that game.
In 2024, he was used a bit more, catching 31 passes on 46 targets for 253 yards and one touchdown.
Across 2024 and 2025, Samuel has had a combined target share of just 5.6%, which trails running back Ty Johnson and is slightly better than former wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who played just six games and has since been on three other teams.
PFSN’s Ryan Moran recently posted a 3-round mock draft, which included the Bills picking No. 26, No. 60, and No. 91. With the deal for Moore, though, the No. 60 overall selection now belongs to the Bears.
Interestingly, that pick was used by the Bills in the mock draft for Georgia State wide receiver Ted Hurst, a player who’s 6’4″, 206 pounds, and ran a 4.42 40-yard dash at the combine.
As for the other picks, Morgan slotted the Bills’ Texas A&M edge rusher Cashius Howell and Auburn center Connor Lew at No. 26 and No. 91, respectively.
A few days before Moran’s mock, PFSN’s Ian Cummings released a 7-round mock draft, which included the Bills bringing in wide receiver help such as Indiana’s Elijah Sarratt (No. 91).
The Bills didn’t get much production from Samuel, and he didn’t really impact the team’s ranking on PFSN Offense Impact Metric, which was third in the NFL last season with an impact score of 86.5.
Samuel will turn 30 before the start of the 2026-27 season.
