Tag: Justin Shorter

Raiders sign 2 to active roster, cut 2 ahead of Week 9

Friday the Raiders swapped out wide receivers and tight ends.

Friday the Raiders made a few roster moves, swapping out wide receivers and tight ends. Signed the to roster were WR Ramel Keyton and TE Justin Shorter. Waived were WR Tyreik McAllister and TE John Samuel Shenker.

Keyton was signed as an undrafted free agent this offseason. He impressed in training camp and preseason and spent all of this season on the team’s practice squad.

Shorter was a former fifth overall pick by the Buffalo Bills. He was among the team’s final roster cuts in August and has spent all season on the Raiders’ practice squad. He has been activated off the practice squad the past two weeks.

McAllister spent last season in the CFL, leading the league in return yardage. He returned a kick for a touchdown this preseason for the Raiders, earning him a roster spot.

Shenker has spent parts of the past two seasons with the Raiders and was the team’s number two tight end the past few weeks with Harrison Bryant injured. Bryant returns this week from his elbow injury.

Raiders add depth at QB, TE with practice squad elevations

Quarterback Carter Bradley could be the primary backup on Sunday for Gardner Minshew while Justin Shorter will add depth at tight end.

Injuries have struck at quarterback and at tight end for the Raiders and to maintain depth on the active roster, they hav called up players at each position from the practice squad.

They elevated QB Carter Bradley from the practice squad due to the injury to Aidan O’Connell. They also signed Desmond Ridder this week off the Cardinals practice squad, but he is unlikely to be ready to step in on such short notice.

Bradley is an undrafted rookie who spent the offseason and training camp with the Raiders. He was among the team’s final roster cuts and re-signed to the practice squad.

Also getting the call up once again is tight end Justin Shorter due to the injury to Harrison Bryant. Shorter will be the third tight end behind Brock Bowers and John Samuel Shenker.

Shorter was a Round five pick by the Bills in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Penn State. He was cut by the Bills in their final roster cuts and signed to the Raiders practice squad.

Raiders make 3 roster moves ahead of Week 7 vs Rams

Raiders’ moves on Saturday were centered around filling their thin receiver corps.

The Raiders are quite thin at wide receiver at the moment. They traded away Davante Adams and are likely to be without Jakobi Meyers as well as he is officially Doubtful for the game with an ankle injury.

To help fill out the roster, they have signed WR Alex Bachman from the practice squad and activated WR Kristian Wilkerson as well and TE Justin Shorter from the practice squad as well.

Bachman had been activated from the practice squad the past three weeks. Last week against the Steelers he caught three passes for 31 yards.

Wilkerson was activated last week for the first time this season and had two catches for 18 yards and a touchdown. He was with the Raiders last season, appearing in two games with one start.

Shorter was a 2023 fifth round pick by the Bills, but got injured and spent his rookie season on injured reserve. He was among the final roster cuts last August and was signed to the Raiders practice squad.

Raiders add former Bills 5th round TE to practice squad

Raiders add former Bills 5th round TE to practice squad

Thursday the Raiders filled one of their vacant practice squad spots with some potential. They added former Buffalo Bills fifth round tight end Justin Shorter..

The 6-5, 228-pound former wide receiver caught 110 passes for 1552 yards and eight touchdowns in his college career. Including 70 catches for over 1100 yards and five touchdowns in his final two seasons for the Florida Gators.

His strong finish to his college career had him selected by the Bills with the 150th overall pick in the 2023 draft. But it was an injury that upended his potential.

Shorter spent his rookie season on injured reserve and didn’t get back into his coaches’ good graces this year and was cut with just two catches on four targets for 15 yards.

Now the Raiders are hoping a change of scenery can revive the potential that made him a mid-round selection.

Currently the Raiders have just three tight ends on the active roster along with TE John Samuel Shenker on the practice squad.

See the Updated Practice Squad tracker HERE.

Former Penn State QBs Sean Clifford and Trace McSorley among NFL cut day victims

A number of Penn State players were cut by NFL teams as rosters began reducing to 53-man rosters.

Tuesday brought on a tough day for so many football players around the NFL. That is the day when NFL teams began trimming their rosters down to the 53-man minimum, and a number of former Penn State players were among the players being cut into the free agent waters of the pros.

Two notable names being cut by their respective NFL franchises were former Penn State quarterbacks [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag] and [autotag]Trace McSorley[/autotag]. McSorely was a late addition to the Washington Commanders roster this summer, so his early exit was not particularly shocking to see. Clifford was a fifth-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers last season. Unfortunately, Clifford’s performance this preseason didn’t help convince the Packers he was the best option to be the backup to franchise quarterback Jordan Love.

The Packers also cut former defensive back [autotag]Kalen King[/autotag], who was a seventh-round draft pick of Green Bay in the 2023 NFL draft.

In addition to cutting McSorley, the Commanders also cut former Penn State wide receiver [autotag]Mitchell Tinsley[/autotag]. It was just days ago the Commanders also traded former Nittany Lion Jahan Dotson to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Commanders also parted ways with former defensive back [autotag]Tariq Castro-Fields[/autotag].

Four other former Penn State receivers were also shown the door; [autotag]KJ Hamler[/autotag] and [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] with the Buffalo Bills, [autotag]Allen Robinson[/autotag] with the New York Giants, and Dan Chisena with the Arizona Cardinals.

Linebacker [autotag]Curtis Jacobs[/autotag] was cut by the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. And former running back [autotag]Noah Cain[/autotag] was released by the Cincinnati Bengals.

You can see the full list of former Penn State players who have been cut by NFL teams in the social media posts from Sam Fremin, via X, below.

Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads.

Stevie Johnson breaks down depth in Bills receiver room (video)

Stevie Johnson breaks down depth in #Bills receiver room (video)”

Former Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson has given his opinion on how the team’s current depth chart could look in the wideout room in 2024.

Like many, Johnson agrees the top-three players are likely second-round rookie Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel and Khalil Shakir.

Johnson thinks the difference below that grouping could be draft status and other numbers like size. Names Johnson went on to discuss were Chase Claypool and Justin Shorter.

Johnson’s full thoughts can be found in the Built in Buffalo clip below:

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Best photos from rookie season of Bills 2023 draft class

Best photos from rookie season of #Bills 2023 draft class:

The Buffalo Bills did not have the biggest of draft classes in 2023 but their haul from it ended up being an impactful one.

At the top, tight end Dalton Kincaid slowly came along during his first year in the pros after being a first-round pick. Then as a surprise selection in Round 2, offensive lineman O’Cyrus Torrence became a Day 1 for Buffalo.

On the flip side, some players from the Bills’ recent draft class were even too good to stick around. The likes of seventh rounder Nick Broeker now lines up on the Houston Texans’ offensive line after Buffalo had to cut Broeker and try to get him on their practice squad.

Following the conclusion of all six draft picks’ first year in the NFL, here are some of the top photos of each from their first season in 2023:

Bills designate rookie WR Justin Shorter to return from injured reserve

#Bills designate rookie WR Justin Shorter to return from injured reserve:

The Buffalo Bills opened the 21-day window for rookie wide receiver Justin Shorter earlier this week. The transaction comes as Buffalo (7-6) is set to host the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15.

At some point within that three-week period, the Bills must put Shorter to the active roster or keep him on injured reserve.

A fifth-round rookie, Shorter sustained a hamstring injury in Buffalo’s preseason finale on Aug. 26. He has not appeared in a regular season game with the team yet.

Shorter is a 6-foot-4 target, which makes him an interesting piece.

Shorter being activated is of some interest because of the lack of production the Bills have gotten from Gabe Davis this season. He has multiple games without a catch.

However, Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott did not give any indication of a connection there.

“Just seeing how he looks and giving him a chance,” McDermott said via video conference. “Just seeing what all the hard work he’s put in looks like.”

Bills Wire will provide updates on Shorter as information is made available.

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Bills Wire Preseason Week 2 Player of the Game: Justin Shorter

Not a whole lot of candidates this week… but we found one (via

The Buffalo Bills preseason went on the road to play against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite losing 27-15 in a poor fashion, a few Bills players had a good game.

We are awarding our second season issue of the Player of the Week Award in 2023 to wide receiver Justin Shorter, who had five catches for 47 yards and a touchdown in the final offensive drive for the Bills:

The Florida product was drafted by Buffalo in the 2023 in the 5th round and was named ‘a steal’ by Touchdown Wire. He was the lone bright spot in the Bills offense, connecting with backup quarterback Kyle Allen  in the second half on multiple short catches and the touchdown strike to the end zone.

Shorter, who is listed on the second team in Bills’ depth chart, had his first catch to convert a third down against Steelers’ CB James Pierre by beating him with a cut inside to move the sticks.

His second was also  won after cutting inside against Steelers’ 3rd string CB Chris Wilcox, taking a physical hit in the middle of the field. He beat Pierre on the outside in the only incompletion Kyle Allen had targeted him on.

During his touchdown winning drive, he used the sidelines well to save time on the clock after the two-minute warning, prior to the touchdown strike. His physicality and technical route-running was clearly evident and can evolve his game plan. We hope he will continue to progress and make an impact in the regular season behind Gabe Davis.

Buffalo will be on the road for their final preseason game, heading to Chicago to play against the Bears next Saturday. After McDermott declared it’s an open competition for the backup QB job last week and Allen performing better than Matt Barkley this week, it will be important to see Shorter have chemistry with both QBs if his snap count increases next week.

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Instant analysis, recap of Bills loss to Steelers in preseason Week 2

Instant analysis, recap of #Bills loss to #Steelers in preseason Week 2 (via @jdiloro):

Well, that was ugly.

The Buffalo Bills fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-15, in a sloppy, undisciplined affair on Saturday night.

The first half was a scene of horrors for the Bills. They gave up an opening drive touchdown to the Steelers, as running back Jaylen Warren burst through the Bills defense for 62 yards.

The Bills followed that up with a three-and-out on offense. Buffalo then allowed a 53-yard punt return to set up the Steelers’ second offensive drive. Pittsburgh cashed in on the next play, which saw quarterback Kenny Pickett find tight end Pat Freiermuth down the seam for a 25-yard touchdown reception.

Buffalo had no answer on offense, as the starters looked flat for the remainder of their three drives on the field.

The Bills set themselves back several times during the first half. They were guilty for 12 penalties in the first two quarters alone. That, along with two interceptions during the first half, negated any sort of silver of optimism that could be found.

It didn’t get much better in the second half. Matt Barkley turned the ball over two more times, bringing his total to four for the game.

Buffalo’s depth players kept the Steelers at bay in the second half. However, there wasn’t much to like about this performance.

This is likely the only time that many of the starters will see on the field during the preseason, so hopefully they will have the time to clean up this disappointing showing.

Here’s the remainder of Bills Wire’s preseason Week 2 recap: