ESPN says AFC rival considering trade for Bills' forgotten WR Curtis Samuel

Despite making $8 million this season, receiver Curtis Samuel is buried on the Buffalo Bills' depth chart.

Bills receiver Curtis Samuel (1) catches a touchdown against the Chiefs during the AFC Championship Game | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Could the Buffalo Bills' afterthought still be an asset?

While the Bills eye a 4-0 start Sunday at Highmark Stadium against the New Orleans and are basking in the glow of multiple offensive weapons at running back, tight end and receiver, Curtis Samuel has become a forgotten man. Josh Allen is again playing like an MVP. James Cook is rounding into form. The Bills are developing a dangerous trio of tight ends in Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox and rookie Jackson Hawes. And the receiving corps — despite lacking a "star" — of Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer, Elijah Moore, and former practice squad member Tyrell Shavers is making Bills Mafia forget about Stefon Diggs.

Samuel, meanwhile, is merely sitting. Through the first three games he's been a healthy scratch and, barring an injury, seems buried on the depth chart.

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In a story for ESPN, NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler is speculating that receiver-hungry teams will soon - if not already - call the Bills about Samuel's status. He believes the Pittsburgh Steelers are at the front of that line.

"The Steelers could have one more move in them, and I'd be willing to bet they'd at least have a conversation on Tyreek Hill if Miami engaged," Fowler wrote. "Curtis Samuel is also a healthy scratch in Buffalo despite making $7.4 million this season."

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Samuel, 29, signed a three-year, $24 million contract in Buffalo in 2024. Last season he played 14 games and finished with 31 catches for 253 yards and a touchdown. But with the drastic improvements of other Bills' receivers, he's been leap-frogged and could be expendable.

For what it's worth, this week the Bills were also linked to Miami Dolphins' Tyreek Hill.

Bills receiver Curtis Samuel runs against the Broncos in the playoffs. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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