The Buffalo Bills have signed wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Valdes-Scantling comes to Buffalo as a late-offseason addition on a one-year deal. The Bills have lost plenty of pieces in the wideout group in recent months and adding a veteran option on a short-term deal looks like a potentially smart move.
Like with any new face in town, you’ll want to get to know the player more.
With that, here are 13 things to know about Valdes-Scantling:
Valdes-Scantling… why? The newest Bills wideout previously explained during an introductory press conference why he hyponates his name. It’s a nod to his step father (Scantling).
“He’s been a big part of my life since I was a baby. He’s my role model, the person that I want to grow up and be just like. He’s done so much for me, I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you all today if it wasn’t for him. That’s why I chose to take his last name,” Valdes-Scantling said.
Valdes-Scantling went on to add that just going with “Marquez Scantling” was an option on his mind but he opted to keep both because his biological father wouldn’t allow him to change his name until he was 18. By that time, he was being recruited to colleges and he didn’t want to do anything to mess up that process.
And by now his nickname being “MVS” is something he approves of.
Yes, colleges came calling, but it was a long and winding road to just that point. He attended Lakewood High School near St. Petersburg, Florida, and Valdes-Scantling was once cut from his school’s football team.
As one would expect, it was a huge kick in the butt.
“Just believing in myself. As a freshman, I wasn’t good enough to make the team. I had to take accountability and stop pointing the finger at everybody else,” Valdes-Scantling said. “I did that and used it as self motivation and learned how to build that drive up in myself and not need anybody else to do it. I took that and ran with it.”
But… his high school coach does dispute this a little. It might have more been a case of getting no playing time.
“I do know that he was super small,” Lakewood coach Cory Moore told the Tampa Bay Times. “We couldn’t even find a helmet to kind of fit him. He was really, really, really small. But no, he was never cut. He may have just meant that he didn’t get a lot of playing time or something like that.”
Valdes-Scantling most recently had Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback with the Kansas City Chiefs. Prior to signing in Kansas City for the past two seasons, MVS was a 2018 fifth-round pick out of USF by the Green Bay Packers. That means Aaron Rodgers.
Now add Bills quarterback Josh Allen to that list.
It’s an attractive option to add a two-time Super Bowl champion. That’s what MVS is.
Naturally it will be a bummer for BIlls fans to know he won those two titles with the Chiefs.
Where Valdes-Scantling can help the Bills is with his deep-threat speed (and size at 6-foot-4). According to NFL Next Gen Stats, MVS once topped out at 22.09 miles-per-hour during a 75-yard touchdown grab in 2021. That was the fastest speed of any wideout in the league that season.
Outside of football, Valdes-Scantling has an entrepreneurial side. He is the co-owner of both an esports team and streetwear brand. He’s also a bit of a self-described “homebody” via PackersNews.com as Valdes-Scantling can often be found gaming himself. He’ll take it to social media, too:
While he has not put up Hall of Fame numbers like Randy Moss… he has his seal of approval. Moss once told ESPN he sees himself in Valdes-Scantling:
“As far as his size and the structure of his body, the way he looks, for sure,” Moss said. “And the way he makes things look easy.”
Moss and Valdes-Scantling are familiar with each other because MVS has previously worked out with Moss during the offseason. Per the ESPN art
Valdes-Scantling was released by the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason.
The move saved the Chiefs $12 million against the salary cap.
Last year, Valdes-Scantling recorded only 21 catches for 315 yards and one touchdown. The year prior he had potentially the best of his career with 42 catches for 687 yards and two touchdowns (In 2020, he had 690 yards with a career-high six touchdowns).
But here’s the important item to note about 2023: The redemption arc. Valdes-Scantling has struggled with drops in the past. It’s a bit of an up-and-down issue in his career. That was a big problem for him last season… regular season.
In the postseason, MVS had a few huge grabs including one which iced the Chiefs’ AFC title win over the Baltimore Ravens, and then he scored in the Super Bowl.
NFL fans might remember this one. It was a bit of a bizarrely-worded question, but despite his known struggles, Valdes-Scantling was having none of this question from a reporter who appeared to be asking about his struggles:
MVS: Not a fan of playing overseas. Good news for him, the Bills do not play anywhere outside of the country in 2024.
“Yeah, it sucks,” the veteran wideout told CBS Sports.
But he understands, adding:
“But obviously we do have other fans that are all over the world, not just in the United States. So it gives them the opportunity to see some of their favorite players play. I know we’ve got a lot of fans over in Germany, so I’m grateful that we get to give them that opportunity.”
And on top of that, Valdes-Scantling got a gift for his global efforts. After being concerned about toilet paper in Europe, the Charmin brand provided him with some.
No, really.
“Yeah, Charmin is helping us out, man. Now, as we go over to Germany, being our home away from home, we are able to keep our routine the same,” he said via Chiefs Wire. “They gave us this Charmin Ultra Soft Smooth Tear toilet paper that we’re going to be able to take with us and just be able to go to another part of the world.”
Valdes-Scantling is probably happy to be on the side of Bills Mafia now… at least in the winter. Remember Buffalo fans throwing snowballs at a Chiefs player during the postseason last season?
Yup, that was Valdes-Scantling:
But MVS won’t hold a grudge. It’s not like he received death threats from Buffalo… because he has said that happened to him elsewhere…
Valdes-Scantling has long given back to his community. According to the Tampa Bay Times in 2018, on Christmas morning in the past he has gone out into the local area and given away up to 60 duffel bags filled with blankets, toiletry items, socks, hand sanitizer and more to homeless people.
Valdes-Scantling, made for Buffalo? Or at least chicken wings since he was once in a commercial that was based on the western New York delicacy: