The Buffalo Bills have a new wide receiver… but again, it’s not the name many would have hoped for.
The team announced on Thursday that wide receiver Marcell Ateman signed a one-year deal. In a corresponding move, wideout Braydon Johnson was released.
Ateman, 28, stands 6-foot-4 in height and was a seventh-round selection of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2018. However, Ateman was more coveted in his recent league: The XFL.
At the 2023 XFL draft, Ateman was the second-overall pick by the St. Louis Battlehawks.
Naturally, most in Buffalo would have hoped to see the latest wideout added by the Bills to be DeAndre Hopkins. For now, Hopkins remains a free agent.
In the XFL, hamstring injuries hampered Ateman, holding him to seven games played. In that time, he recorded 19 catches for 259 yards.
During his NFL career, Ateman bounced back and forth from active rosters to practice squads. Along with playing for the Raiders, the Arizona Cardinals signed Ateman in 2022.
In 19 games played in the NFL, Ateman has 20 catches for 270 yards and a touchdown.
What might hamper Ateman in Buffalo is his lack of special teams experience as depth receivers often contribute there in Buffalo. He has only played in 24 total special teams snaps in the NFL.
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Story originally appeared on Bills Wire