Curtis Samuel鈥檚 first year with the Buffalo Bills can accurately be described with one word: underwhelming.
Signed to a three-year contract worth up to $24 million before the last season, Samuel managed just 31 catches for 253 yards and one touchdown in 14 regular season games.
Yes, injuries could鈥檝e been the main reason for Samuel鈥檚 underwhelming production.
Samuel suffered a turf toe injury before the regular season began, then missed one game because of a shoulder injury and two more games to a ribcage injury later on. As much as those injuries took a physical toll on him, the mental challenge of adjusting to a new offense while standing on a sideline was even greater, he said.
Bills wide receiver Curtis Samuel has put an injury-plagued 2024 season behind him.
鈥淚t was just annoying, thinking about it, when you were out there trying to be the best player you possibly can be,鈥 Samuel told The Buffalo News this week after the team鈥檚 first spring practice. 鈥淚 feel like it kind of limited me sometimes in and out of breaks, in and out of cuts. I鈥檓 excited to be able to move forward from that.鈥
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Samuel played 42.8% of the Bills鈥 offensive snaps in 2024. His time was split nearly evenly between the slot, where he ran 130 routes, and outside, where he ran 133 routes, according to analytics website Pro Football Focus. Just 15 of his catches and 88 of his receiving yards came from the slot.
That鈥檚 a drastic downturn from his previous two years in Washington, where the Commanders used Samuel much more as a slot receiver over the 2022-23 seasons, playing him there on about 70% of his snaps.
That was also similar to his time in Carolina 鈥 his first stint with current Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady 鈥 when Samuel had his best season in the NFL.
During that 2020 season, with a first-year head coach in Matt Rhule and with Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback, Samuel he played 71.4% of his snaps in the slot, and he finished the year with 77 catches for 851 yards and three touchdowns.
That鈥檚 part of what made Samuel鈥檚 lackluster production last year with the Bills so surprising: If anybody had shown how to get the most out of Samuel in the NFL, it was Brady.
The problem in Buffalo is that the Bills have at least two clear-cut options ahead of Samuel when it comes to targets out of the slot 鈥 receiver Khalil Shakir, who was far and away their leading receiver and Josh Allen鈥檚 favorite target last year, and tight end Dalton Kincaid.
鈥淭hings are a little different, but I mean, it is what it is,鈥 Samuel said, explaining whether his role with the Bills is different than it鈥檚 been elsewhere. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 go back. You can鈥檛 change anything. It鈥檚 about getting in that playbook and adapting to whatever role you鈥檝e got to be out there on that field.鈥
Bills wide receiver Curtis Samuel celebrates with teammates after his touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 17, 2024, at Highmark Stadium. It was Samuel鈥檚 only touchdown of the regular season.
Samuel carries a $9.065 million cap hit for the 2025 season. That jumps to $9.725 million in 2026, but the Bills can get out of the deal after 2025 and save $6.725 million against the 2026 salary cap. Given those numbers, it鈥檚 likely Samuel is playing for his future in Buffalo during the upcoming season.
To his credit, he never publicly complained about his usage, even though he received just 37 targets in the regular season. Excluding the 2021 season with Washington, when he played just five games because of injury, Samuel鈥檚 target share in 2024 was the lowest since 2017, when he was a rookie out of Ohio State.
Brady鈥檚 offense has evolved from the time he and Samuel were together with the Panthers, which is to be expected. It is now geared around Allen and what makes the MVP quarterback most comfortable, so naturally, the playbook is different. Samuel鈥檚 task is adjusting to that and making something happen when he gets his chances.
He was able to do that in the Bills鈥 three playoff games, finishing with six catches (on eight targets) for 81 yards and two touchdowns. What鈥檚 interesting is Samuel鈥檚 production in the playoffs came despite a reduction in playing time. He was on the field for just 30% of the offensive snaps, but he made the most of them.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 important,鈥 Bills coach Sean McDermott said. 鈥淲e kind of got into a into a little bit of a rhythm late in the year. He鈥檚 battled through some injuries. Then being new in the system last year, I think took, maybe overall, (took) some time just to get up to speed.鈥
That process is over now as he prepares for his second season.
鈥淚 think we have a better understanding of how he can help us and the role that he may play for us in the days and weeks ahead,鈥 McDermott said.
Samuel said the healthiest he felt throughout his first year in Buffalo was during the playoffs, so perhaps it鈥檚 not a surprise his production took a step forward.
Since then, the Bills said goodbye to receivers Mack Hollins and Amari Cooper and made a significant investment in Joshua Palmer in free agency. On paper, Samuel looks to be the team鈥檚 No. 4 receiver behind Shakir, second-year player Keon Coleman and Palmer.
Add in the targets that go to Kincaid and fellow tight end Dawson Knox, and it鈥檚 probably unrealistic to think that Samuel will come close to his career-best 2020 season with Brady. A good year would be to double his catches and yards totals from 2024.
Given that the Bills believe in their 鈥渆verybody eats鈥 philosophy, doing so would mean Samuel made the most of his targets.
鈥淒ay by day, I鈥檓 getting more and more comfortable being in the system, being in this offense,鈥 he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 feeling great. I know I can impact the game on the field.鈥
