Under the radar free agent signing Trent Sherfield could play key role in Bills offense

There was a four-play stretch during the first quarter of Saturday’s preseason finale in Chicago that exemplified exactly why the Buffalo Bills are so high on wide receiver Trent Sherfield.

It was on the second offensive possession, during which Sherfield replaced Stefon Diggs and Kyle Allen took over for Josh Allen, and this is what Sherfield did on the first four plays:

• First-and-10 at the Bills 25, Sherfield ran a crossing route, found a soft spot in the Bears zone and hauled in a 19-yard completion;

• First-and-10 at the 44, Allen made an adjustment to the blocking scheme and motioned Sherfield to line up tight to the formation for a James Cook run. Sherfield took on a linebacker straight up and helped create a gap for a 5-yard gain;

• Second-and-5 at the 49, Sherfield lined up in the slot and when Allen threw a designed swing pass, Cook caught the ball and made his cut behind another good Sherfield block for a gain of 9 yards;

• And on first-and-10 from the Bears 42, Sherfield ran a deep route and drew a defensive holding penalty which resulted in an automatic first down.

Sign up for the Bills Blast newsletter Delivered straight to your inbox, additional Bills analysis, insight, stats, quotes and team history from Sal Maiorana

When Sherfield signed as a free agent back in the spring, he was almost an afterthought with Diggs and Gabe Davis as the starters, Khalil Shakir returning for his second season and speedy Deonte Harty already signed to a more lucrative free agent deal. However, there is now plenty of thought being given to the idea that Sherfield might be the No. 3 receiver in Buffalo’s offense, No. 4 if you count rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid as a receiver.

“You look at a guy when you bring him in as a free agent … there were some traits that stuck out,” offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey said. “I just didn’t know how good Trent could be when he first got here, I really didn’t. I thought he’d be a great piece for us, and a guy who would compete for a spot and everything. But he’s really come in and opened some eyes, not only on the coaching staff but throughout the trust of the quarterback room and the wide receiver room.”

And it’s because of his ability to impact a play in a variety of ways either lined up wide, in the slot, or even attached to the line, that has created that trust and respect among his teammates.”

“All the different things that he does, not only as a pass catcher but as a blocker, and as a teammate,” Dorsey said. “He’s been tremendous coming in here, and just continues to get reps at some different spots, and takes advantage of every single time he’s on the field. He’s been a great surprise for us coming into the season.”

Sherfield has been flying under the radar ever since he signed with the Cardinals in 2018 as an undrafted free agent out of Vanderbilt. During three years in Arizona, one in San Francisco and then 2022 in Miami, Sherfield has only 67 catches for 844 yards and four TDs, but he also did the little things on offense, plus has been a key contributor on special teams at every stop.

“I think what I’ve learned in my journey is the more you can do … with my ability to play outside, inside and play on teams, I take pride in that,” Sherfield said. “I feel as long as I have a jersey, if I’m on teams or whatever it may be, then I have a chance to play on offense, at receiver. That’s how I’ve looked at it ever since my rookie year.”

The first time the Bills saw Sherfield live and in person came in 2020 when he made two special teams tackles for the Cardinals in the infamous Hail Murray loss. But last year, the Bills saw plenty of Sherfield in the three games against the Dolphins.

He played a combined 147 snaps against them between offense and special teams and while he caught only one of two targets for 5 yards and made two tackles, the Bills clearly saw the intangibles on display. And of course, he showed up on tape because he saw the most extensive playing time of his career on offense - 611 total snaps, 30 receptions for 417 yards and two touchdowns.

“I respected his game being on the other side going against him this past year in particular, and what a great young man in terms of what he brings to our football team off the field,” coach Sean McDermott said. “Here’s another player that you really don’t know until you get the pads on.”

Josh Allen certainly took notice last year because when Sherfield was considering signing with Buffalo, he contacted his old Cardinals teammate, Christian Kirk - who is close friends with Allen - and asked him for the quarterback’s number.

“When the Bills called, I hit up Christian and said ‘I need you to get me on the phone with Josh to talk through some things,’” Sherfield recalled. “I got him on the phone, he said he was a big fan of mine, he’s watched me play which I was surprised to hear. But we hit it off really well. You would have thought me and Josh knew each other for months on end the way that conversation went. That really helped alleviate a lot of the decision making I had to make as far as coming here or going somewhere else.”

As the Bills transition from training camp/preseason mode to the regular season and fixate on the season opener against the Jets, Sherfield has put himself in position to be part of the game plan.

“They’ve been moving me around everywhere; I literally have no idea exactly where I’m going to be,” he said. “You have to know every single position. The way our playbook is, (Dorsey) likes to move guys around, get them in different matchups. Me being able to play inside and outside, that’s definitely an advantage and I’m look forward to whatever my role is.”

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana and on Threads @salmaiorana1. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which will come out every Friday during training camp, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Trent Sherfield could play a big role in Buffalo Bills offense