Bills add veteran WR by signing Marquez Valdes-Scantling
The Bills continued to add to their receiver spot on Tuesday with veteran Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Kansas City Chiefs receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling catches a pass against Buffalo Bills safety Micah Hyde in the teams' January playoff game. Valdes-Scantling agreed to a one-year contract with the Bills on Tuesday. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
The Buffalo Bills added veteran Marquez Valdes-Scantling to their crowded receiver room Tuesday.
Valdes-Scantling, who visited the Bills’ facility Monday, played the last two years for the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills announced his signing Tuesday morning.
Previously this offseason, the Bills signed receivers Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins, Quintez Cephus and Chase Claypool in free agency and used their initial draft pick (second round) on Keon Coleman.
The Bills have 14 receivers under contract and only five – Khalil Shakir, Justin Shorter, Andy Isabella, Tyrell Shavers and Bryan Thompson – were with the team last year.
Valdes-Scantling, 29, has averaged 31 catches for 525 yards per season over his six-year career while playing with quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay (for four years) and Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City (the past two years). His career totals are 186 catches for 3,155 yards and 16 touchdowns in 92 regular season games and 24 catches for 406 yards and 19 touchdowns in 11 playoff games.
At 6-foot-4 and 206 pounds, Valdes-Scantling arguably will get penciled in as the No. 4 or No. 5 receiver heading into training camp. He played 72% of his snaps outside last year for the Chiefs and 64% outside in 2022. He provides more insurance if Coleman gets hurt or needs more time to adjust to the NFL game. Shakir is the Bills' top slot option, although he can play outside. Samuel can play inside or outside but figures to be the primary slot option if Shakir gets hurt.
ESPN reported his deal with the Bills is for one year with a $1.125 million signing bonus and a value of up to $4.5 million.
Originally a fifth-round pick by Green Bay in 2018 (No. 174 overall), Valdes-Scantling caught 38 passes as a rookie, a total he didn’t top until he had 42 for Kansas City in ’22.
In 2010, Valdes-Scantling averaged 20.9 yards on his 33 catches.
According to Pro Football Reference, Valdes-Scantling has 23 regular-season dropped passes.
Of note as the Bills try and stretch the field: Valdes-Scantling’s average “air” yards on his receptions has been 11.6, 13.6, 10.9, 12.8 and 10.6 yards in the last five years; by comparison, in his four Bills seasons, Stefon Diggs’ average “air” yards per catch were 8.4, 8.7, 9.4 and 7.3 yards.
Valdes-Scantling won Super Bowl titles with Kansas City the last two years. He had six catches for 116 yards and one touchdown in the January 2023 AFC title game win over Cincinnati and two catches for 62 yards in the January 2024 divisional round win over the Bills.
He signed a three-year, $30 million contract with Kansas City in 2022. He was released in February in a move that saved the Chiefs $12 million this year on their salary cap.