During the off-season, the Buffalo Bills’ wide receiving core dipped to its lowest levels since the team signed Sammy Watkins. Robert Woods, Marquise Goodwin, and Justin Hunter walked out the door to different teams. That left Buffalo hurting for some players. The addition of wide receivers Andre Holmes, Corey Brown, and Rod Streater beefed up the receivers. The drafting of Zay Jones helps immensely but the Bills were missing that strong veteran receiver, until yesterday. Wide receiver Anquan Boldin is now part of Buffalo’s organization. His one-year $2.75 million contract is perfect for Buffalo, who needs to get their receiving core together.
What Boldin brings to the field
Boldin has been a consistent player for the NFL. With almost 14,000 yards and 1076 career catches, the guy knows how to get it done on the field. He has been to two Super Bowls with the Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals. He was quarterback Joe Flacco’s go to man when the Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl in 2013.
Buffalo is lacking some veteran leadership among Buffalo’s wide receiver group. Watkins has been with the team since 2014 but has not been on the field enough to make his leadership in the locker room a strong presence. Jones is a newbie and Holmes, Brown, and Streater are in their first year with the team. Boldin has kept his nose clean and out of trouble during his NFL career.
With Bills’ players such as Adolphus Washington getting weapons charges and Marcell Dareus being suspended twice for substance abuse violations, the team needs some good direction that Boldin can give.
Another Terrell Owens?
The last big-name veteran receiver that Buffalo signed to a contract was Terrell Owens in 2009, ESPN reported.
Owens played for the team for one season and his 829 yards and 55 receptions were decent numbers. Owens and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick also posted a 98-yard touchdown that year, which is number two in the record books behind Jim Plunkett, Tom Brady, and Brett Favre, and others who all have 99-yard touchdowns under their belt.
Will Bills’ quarterback Tyrod Taylor and Boldin qualify for that category? Boldin and Taylor are not strangers. They both have Super Bowl rings from the Baltimore Ravens’ 2013 victory. Taylor was the backup quarterback then. Surprisingly, his first ever NFL completion six years ago was to Boldin.
Can Anquan Boldin and Taylor recreate some reception magic? The Buffalo Bills face the Minnesota Vikings in their first pre-season game this Thursday.
