Bills coach confirms suspicion about new playmaker on the team ahead of training camp

As the Buffalo Bills are set to begin training camp at St. John Fisher University in Rochester, NY this week, there are plenty of roster spots and scheme questions waiting to be answered.

Fortunately for us, new offensive coordinator Joe Brady went on the Centered On Buffalo podcast and confirmed suspicions held by many, including myself, about how veteran wide receiver Curtis Samuel would be utilized in his first year after signing a noteworthy three-year, $24 million contact in free agency.

Brady confirms Curtis Samuel will be a do-everything weapon

It was thought by many that Samuel could be a bit of a chess piece in this offense based on the shared history between he and Brady, and the latter all but confirmed it.

When asked what to expect from Samuel, Brady said "hopefully a little bit of everything. I'm so excited to get Curtis back. Ya know I only had him for one year and he kinda just did this the entire year," while gesturing a stocks up motion with his hand.

“He’s an incredible blocker, he can play on the outside, play on the inside, move him around, he’s as fast as can be – just give him the ball and good things happen. Whether he’s playing receiver, or whether he’s playing running back, it doesn’t really matter. Just his versatility will be an asset to the offense.”

Brady seems ready to pull some tricks out of his bag in a wide receiver room that will also look to feature Khalil Shakir and tight end breakout candidate Dalton Kincaid .

Joe Brady gushed about past history with Curtis Samuel

Before coming to Buffalo, Brady was the offensive coordinator with the Carolina Panthers in 2020-2021. During his stint there, he was fortunate enough to call plays for running back Christian McCaffrey, and also had Samuel at his disposal as well.

2020 was the high-water mark so far for Samuel in his seven-year NFL career, posting 77 receptions on 97 targets for 851 yards and three touchdowns with Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback, and also factored into the backfield opportunities with 41 rushing attempts, 200 rushing yards, and two touchdowns on the ground. Very few wide receivers contribute in both phases.

"One year that I had [Samuel], it was the COVID year, so I didn’t get to really do much with him in the offseason,” Brady said. “We basically just played him at wide receiver to start, and gave him some carries at running back. Week 2 of my first year, Christian McCaffrey got hurt. Ya know, we had good running backs on the roster, but it was like 'man how can I get [Samuel] involved,' and he just kinda took it and ran with it.”

During that 2020 season, Samuel was the third option in the passing attack after D.J. Moore and Robbie Chosen, both of whom eclipsed the 1,000 receiving yards mark. Now reuniting with Samuel in Buffalo, Brady has a great idea of how to utilize his talents.

Now a part of an enigmatic receiver room without a true alpha, Samuel figures to be a factor in a variety of ways once again.

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