Will Skyler Bell be "Red-Shirted"?

[BillsFanForever19]

There were a lot of posters excited by Skyler Bell's Prospects as a 4th Round Pick that was viewed to have been a little bit of a bargain where we took him.

 

Though in Training Camp, it appeared that he would need some time to develop (as Rookies often do) as he was reportedly clearly 5th in the pecking order, behind Keon Coleman and Josh Palmer.

 

Then he got hurt:

 

Since then, he's missed both Pre-Season games, the scrimmage against the Browns, and the Bills 2nd scrimmage practice at the stadium. Which is very important development time for a Rookie.

 

It's led me to wonder - will Beane do with him as he's done with other Day 3 Picks and IR him?

 

If he's ready, I personally wouldn't. As doing so woud delay the development process. But this is something Beane is known to do and his injury and missing important training for a Rookie lines up with Beane's M.O. when he has done this in the past. 

[Big Blitz]

I like Sherfield, Macklin, and Hardman more then the idea of Skyler Bell and whatever he is.  

Ok Bell more than Hardman.  

[Winnebago Man]

The only issue with trying to stash Bell is that Joe Brady has come out and said that they are being precautionary and if he "had to play" he could. Maybe they would stash him on IR anyway, but it definitely conflicts with previous messaging.

 

Right now, I would assume that our WR room is going to be:

Moore - Shakir - Coleman - Palmer - Bell - Sherfield

 

If we try to stash someone on the practice squad, I hope it would be Maclin or Gosnell (who had a better week last week, admittedly). 

 

Though it isn't directly related to receiver, Zylstra has made depth at TE more interesting. If he can provide more versatility than Keleki Latu, he may stick as the Practice Squad TE. I saw him on Special Teams, he played fullback in place of Van Sumeren, and he lined up at traditional in-line TE. That is good value if he can perform all duties well, and I thought he looked decent today.

[BuffaloBillyG]

37 minutes ago, BillsFanForever19 said:

There were a lot of posters excited by Skyler Bell's Prospects as a 4th Round Pick that was viewed to have been a little bit of a bargain where we took him.

 

Though in Training Camp, it appeared that he would need some time to develop (as Rookies often do) as he was reportedly clearly 5th in the pecking order, behind Keon Coleman and Josh Palmer.

 

Then he got hurt:

 

Since then, he's missed both Pre-Season games, the scrimmage against the Browns, and the Bills 2nd scrimmage practice at the stadium. Which is very important development time for a Rookie.

 

It's led me to wonder - will Beane do with him as he's done with other Day 3 Picks and IR him?

 

If he's ready, I personally wouldn't. As doing so woud delay the development process. But this is something Beane is known to do and his injury and missing important training for a Rookie lines up with Beane's M.O. when he has done this in the past. 

I don't think they will IR him for the season. If he hits IR at all I would expect it to come after rosters are finalized so he can return at some point this year. Even if he's inactive for all games this year, it's important to his development to get practice reps in and such. Sooner or later this year he will probably have to take meaningful snaps. I'd slow play him at the start of the season, let him learn and be ready when needed. 

[Maine-iac]

Sherfield and Maclin have done nothing to make me think we should depend on them.  I've seen enough of Sherfield to expect 10 catches and a bunch of special teams.  Maclin has had some pop in a couple preseason games but even without seeing Bell I'd have greater expectations of what Bell could do on the field than either of them.  If Maclin could show something as a punt returner, or even the ability to field kicks without TO's, it wouldn't hurt my feeling to roster him over Hardman.

Edited August 23 by Maine-iac

[billsfan89]

Unless he is genuinely hurt I don’t see the Bills putting him on IR to “redshirt” him. Shakir didn’t do much at all his rookie year most WR’s drafted in the mid rounds or later aren’t making big impacts year one. So the idea that he’s not making much of an impact so just put him on IR is flawed to me. Yes if he is legit hurt put him on IR for 6 weeks and get him back when he is ready. 
 

I just think sometimes guys need to be out there practicing and going through a season to develop.

9 minutes ago, Maine-iac said:

Sherfield and Maclin have done nothing to make me think we should depend on them.  I've seen enough of Sherfield to expect 10 catches and a bunch of special teams.  Maclin has had some pop in a couple preseason games but even without seeing Bell I'd have greater expectations of what Bell could do on the field than either of them.  If Maclin could show something as a punt returner, or even the ability to field kicks without TO's, it wouldn't hurt my feeling to roster him over Hardman.

If Sherfield is making this team it is purely as an ST ace. There’s just no reason to think he is anything more than a WR5 that plays special teams 

[NeverOutNick]

I’ve said this before. Bell should be IR’d since he won’t contribute much this year. Sherfield and Hardman can be PS material and honestly I wouldn’t even waste one of those spots on Hardman. I’d rather use it for Maclin and Goswell. Pick up Cooks as the 5th WR after our top 4 and call it a day.

[zow2]

I mean maybe Skyler is a unicorn in that he can miss huge chunks of camp practice, the Browns scrimmage, all preseason games, etc.. and still show up week 1 and be  wonderful contributor.  But i doubt it.

[FLFan]

I think this is shaping up to be a red shirt year for Bell.  At best he makes the 53 and is inactive for most of the year.  Disappointing but should not be all that surprising.  

[Sojourner]

Had high hopes for him. Probably best to tame those desires and expect a role player who chips in >20 catches, >250 yards. 
 

It’s Moore, Shakir, Palmer and Keon ahead of him at the position. And probably rightly so. He’s then got to concede any further opportunities to Kincaid, Knox and Hawes. 
 

His main competition is Tyrell Shavers for the position who, unfortunately for him, has produced for Joe Brady and the offense last year. 

Edited August 23 by Sojourner

[Maine-iac]

4 minutes ago, Sojourner said:

Had high hopes for him. Probably best to tame those desires and expect a role player who chips in >20 catches, >250 yards. 
 

It’s Moore, Shakir, Palmer and Keon ahead of him at the position. And probably rightly so. He’s then got to concede any further opportunities to Kincaid, Knox and Hawes. 
 

His main competition is Tyrell Shavers for the position who, unfortunately for him, has produced for Joe Brady and the offense last year. 

Have no idea how they plan to use Bell but it would be interesting if they do in fact do more with Shakir outside it would be interesting to see if Bell could do some of what Shakir has been doing.  I say that becuase it would give him a chance to catch more passes closer to the LOS and get some volume to get going.  I feel like throwing them outside and just heaving up jump balls and 9 routes is not a great strategy for bringing along young pass catchers.  If nothing else it's nice that he's got pass catchers in front of him and hopefully he's in there when he's ready.

[HamptonBillsfan]

2 hours ago, Big Blitz said:

I like Sherfield, Macklin, and Hardman more then the idea of Skyler Bell and whatever he is.  

Ok Bell more than Hardman.  

Hardman is a gadget guy/ returner who scares you because he takes huge hits and will put the ball on the ground. He’s not really worth a roster spot over Bell. At this stage of his career he’s a nomad who goes from team to team.

[Florida Bills Fanatic]

According to the team, he would have played this week if it was a regular season game.  With all of the practice time that he has had, the coaches know exactly what he is.  Even without the injury, he is probably WR5 at best. His flexibility to play both inside and out is important. He will provide valuable depth this year and be important to replace inevitable injuries.  Most young receivers require a year or two to have a significant positive impact.  Bell will probably be no different.  I believe Sherfield will be the WR6 because of special teams contributions.  

[Sojourner]

53 minutes ago, Maine-iac said:

Have no idea how they plan to use Bell but it would be interesting if they do in fact do more with Shakir outside it would be interesting to see if Bell could do some of what Shakir has been doing.  I say that becuase it would give him a chance to catch more passes closer to the LOS and get some volume to get going.  I feel like throwing them outside and just heaving up jump balls and 9 routes is not a great strategy for bringing along young pass catchers.  If nothing else it's nice that he's got pass catchers in front of him and hopefully he's in there when he's ready.

Slow acclimation might be the best and only approach from what’s transpiring. Here’s a question, if he sees little to no usage and is then relied upon later down the road due to injuries or unavailability by guys ahead of him, does that become a concern if it’s trial by fire?? 

[Maine-iac]

1 minute ago, Sojourner said:

Slow acclimation might be the best and only approach from what’s transpiring. Here’s a question, if he sees little to no usage and is then relied upon later down the road due to injuries or unavailability by guys ahead of him, does that become a concern if it’s trial by fire?? 

Whether we've seen it or not I would have to believe that if he's next in line behind Moore and Shakir if the coaches think he's our best option he's probably our best option.  I do think any player who you hope to throw a number of passes at needs to see some volume to get into a rythm.  If they're throwing him in to give Moore or Shakir a couple plays off a game and he's just watching and learning that's fine.  If he is seeing starting snaps due to injury or some other reason I would hope they would find some way to work him into the offense, get the ball in his hands, get him going.  I honestly feel like that is some of Keon's problem.  He just never got any volume of catches to really get going.  I'm no WR expert and certainly not a coaching expert.  That's all just my 2 cents.

[BeyondTheProcess]

I'm guessing Hardman is released and Bell makes the roster.  This is why 7 is returning punts in preseason. 

[machine gun kelly]

All signs point to them acting in a precautionary manner.  If he has anything significant, they’ll stash him on IR.  It’s a bit premature to state he should be red shirted.  What is more likely is he is eased back into practice, and when the season starts he’ll be eased into the game each week for maybe 8-10 weeks.

 

I don’t expect him to get a little playing time with each week.  He probably won’t get to the top three or four unless there are significant injuries to multiple WRs.

[juno999]

If Bell misses practice this week and the final preseason game, it’s possible he starts on the PUP and misses the first 4 games. If the Bills go with 5 WRs, it’s hard to see him on the team if he’s not fully healthy. If they go 6 WRs maybe he’s on the 53 healthy or not. 
 

The other thing is Beane may be trying to protect some other players which may put Bell on IR or PUP. Beane may want TE Latu, or a 10th oline guy, or another DB. 

[Matt_In_NH]

11 hours ago, Winnebago Man said:

The only issue with trying to stash Bell is that Joe Brady has come out and said that they are being precautionary and if he "had to play" he could. Maybe they would stash him on IR anyway, but it definitely conflicts with previous messaging.

 

Right now, I would assume that our WR room is going to be:

Moore - Shakir - Coleman - Palmer - Bell - Sherfield

 

If we try to stash someone on the practice squad, I hope it would be Maclin or Gosnell (who had a better week last week, admittedly). 

 

Though it isn't directly related to receiver, Zylstra has made depth at TE more interesting. If he can provide more versatility than Keleki Latu, he may stick as the Practice Squad TE. I saw him on Special Teams, he played fullback in place of Van Sumeren, and he lined up at traditional in-line TE. That is good value if he can perform all duties well, and I thought he looked decent today.

Hardman seems like the preferred punt returner and you can do some things with him on offense too.  Sherfield is different but similar in that he is a primary Teams guy who can take snaps on offense.   I could see both making it if they IR Bell and while Brady said what he did the actions are different.

[BillsFooteball]

Sherfield earning the last spot and is a good ST player.