Curtis Samuel was one of the biggest additions to the Buffalo Bills offense this offseason, with many expecting the veteran receiver to help fill the void left when Stefon Diggs was traded to the Houston Texans.

But Samuel has been off to a slow start, falling down the depth chart and sparking some concern among fans. As Jay Skurski of the Buffalo Newsnoted, Samuel has been the “clear No. 4 receiver” through the first two games of the season and saw a surprisingly low number of snaps in the team’s win over the Miami Dolphins on September 12.

“Samuel, who signed a three-year contract with the Bills in the offseason worth up to $24 million, was on the field for just 12 offensive snaps during Thursday night’s 31-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. That was 27% of the offensive total,” Skurski wrote.

Skurski added that it was the second straight game that Samuel was on the field for just 27% of the team’s total offensive snaps, putting him behind Keon Coleman, Mack Hollins and Khalil Shakir on the depth chart.

Bills ‘Going With the Flow’

Bills head coach Sean McDermott addressed Samuel’s low snap count after the team’s Week 1 win over the Arizona Cardinals. While Samuel has been dealing with a lingering toe injury that kept him out for a stretch of training camp and the preseason, McDermott said it was more of a strategic decision to limit the number of snaps for Samuel.

Bills HC Sean McDermott when asked if WR Curtis Samuel’s toe injury impacted his lower snap count, didn’t give the toe injury much mention and said that they were just going with the flow of the game,” The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia shared in a post on X. “He said he thought Samuel did a good job.”

Samuel is the most experienced receiver on the roster, an eight-year veteran with 320 career catches for 3,401 yards and 22 touchdowns. Samuel has also been a rushing threat, accumulating 715 rushing yards and seven touchdowns over his career.

But Samuel has not been much of a factor in any aspect of Buffalo’s offense so far, getting just four total targets and catching three for 18 yards.