Bills Central

Why Bills should not entertain reunion with former fourth-round WR

By now, everyone has heard and discussed in depth about the Jacksonville Jaguars releasing Gabe Davis. Now, it's time for the voice of reason.

Ronnie Eastham

Former Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis (13) catches a 57-yard touchdown pass.
Former Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis (13) catches a 57-yard touchdown pass. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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After just one season, the Jacksonville Jaguars released former Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis. Before everyone demands that general manager Brandon Beane bring him back to Buffalo, let's break down a few numbers first.

Gabe Davis has played 81 career games, including playoffs, in five seasons. In that time, he had 3,443 yards receiving on 205 receptions, and 35 touchdowns. On a per-game basis, his numbers don't look bad, but let’s look a bit further.

In those 81 games, Davis has recorded only eight games with 100 or more receiving yards. Those eight games account for 30 percent of his career total. He also had 10 touchdowns in that time, 29 percent of his scores, and 41 receptions, which equates to 20 percent. Nearly a third of his yards and touchdowns came in just eight of his games.

Davis is the epitome of inconsistency, and while he may be a great blocking receiver and team-first guy, both solid assets to have, he is a receiver first and foremost. Let's also not pretend he didn't have one of the best quarterbacks in the league to throw him the ball, and this is something Elijah Moore recently commented on, "I have run into some quarterback trouble. I can't throw the ball to myself."

RELATED: Former Bills captain 'in favor' of bringing back free-agent WR Gabe Davis

The Bills' projected Top 5 WRs right now are Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Josh Palmer, Curtis Samuel, and Moore. The Bills typically keep only five receivers on their 53-man roster, so ask yourself, is Davis a better option than any of those five?

The most likely scenario is that Davis is battling Laviska Shenault for the sixth spot, and rather than have him occupy that, the team is better served having those practice reps go to the likes of Bills rookie, Kaden Prather.

Former Buffalo Bills receiver Gabe Davis catches touchdown pass
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis (13) reacts after scoring a touchdown. / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

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Ronnie Eastham
RONNIE EASTHAM

Ronnie began covering the NFL and the Buffalo Bills three years ago, including content across outlets such as FanSided, Buffalo Rumblings podcasts, On SI and video content for Built In Buffalo.

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