Bills lose another receiver body, sign Pettis to patch the leak

Yesterday I wrote about Buffalo opening camp already short two wideouts. It's still two — but the names have changed, which tells you something about how fast this room is moving.

Jalen Virgil is out, placed on the non-football injury list and released. In his place, the Bills signed Dante Pettis, a seven-year veteran who has bounced through four NFC stops. Pettis is a known commodity — a guy who can run routes and hold a roster spot — but he is not a solution to anything structural. He is a body.

The structural problem remains exactly what it was when camp opened: DJ Moore is the starter and there is almost nothing behind him. Trent Sherfield and Mecole Hardman are the next names on the depth chart, and neither produced meaningful snaps last season. Tyrell Shavers, who might eventually push for a real role, is still on the PUP list with his playoff injury. The Bills are essentially running a one-wide receiving room and hoping the tight ends and backs — Dawson Knox, Dalton Kincaid, Khalil Shakir — carry enough of the passing game to compensate.

Pettis buys a little time. It does not buy much. The next 10 days of camp will tell us whether anyone in this group separates enough to be trusted in a meaningful role, or whether Buffalo heads toward September with the same fragility that was already visible before a single rep was taken.