Bills Receivers Bashed for ‘Mountaintop' Problem
Bills Receivers Bashed for 'Mountaintop' Problem originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Buffalo Bills as Super Bowl contenders is nothing new with Josh Allen and Co. getting as close as they ever have last season with No. 17 leading the way.
Advertisement
And that was with a receiver room that didn't have a genuine No. 1 weapon, yet they still averaged 30.9 points per game. So that wasn't the problem, right?
Wrong. As we turn our attention to training camp, despite the additions of Joshua Palmer, Elijah Moore,\ and Laviska Shenault Jr., to go with Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel, some still think the Bills need more for Allen.
Last year should serve as a reason to be content with Buffalo's receiver room, but Bleacher Report's Moe Moton is the latest to call into question the Bills' receiver room.
Moton called it Buffalo's biggest flaw.
Advertisement
"Buffalo can match its rival at quarterback with 2024 MVP Josh Allen, who's capable of making spectacular game-winning plays as a passer and ball-carrier, but the team may not have enough around its star quarterback," Moton writes. "Buffalo has great depth at wide receiver with Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Elijah Moore, Joshua Palmer and Curtis Samuel on the roster, but who's going to be the go-to target in clutch moments?
"The Bills shouldn't have to rely on Allen having an MVP year to reach the NFL mountaintop."
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) runs the ball against New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner (1).Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
We are sure how many times we have to address this, but we'll do it one more time.
Advertisement
Last season proved that the Bills don't necessarily need a No. 1 weapon, although it would be nice, but with Joe Brady's "everybody eats" mantra, things have flowed nicely.
And we haven't even mentioned James Cook or tight ends Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox either.
Having made it to the AFC Championship game, many expect the same in 2025, and that is without adding more firepower. Plus, with just $1.6 million in cap space, for those wanting Buffalo to get a genuine difference-making receiver, how exactly would that transpire?
Yes, the Bills "shouldn't" have to rely on Allen having an MVP season to win the Super Bowl, but at the end of the day, Bills Mafia won't care as long as they get the desired hardware.
Advertisement
Related: Bills Receiver Curtis Samuel Poised for 'Journey' to Bounce-Back Year
Related: Buffalo Power Ranking Is Only A Start for Josh Allen-Led Bills
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 16, 2025, where it first appeared.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
25 minutes ago
- USA Today
Beware, Shedeur Sanders: Browns could cut you for less than a speeding ticket
Beware, Shedeur Sanders: Browns could cut you for less than a speeding ticket Show Caption Hide Caption Shedeur Sanders not feeling pressure from his doubters After sliding in the NFL Draft, Shedeur Sanders explains why he's not bothered by his many doubters as Browns career begins. Sports Pulse It's one thing to catch fire on the football field. Think about what wideout Puka Nacua has done during two exceptional seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, for example. Otherwise? Fifth-round draft picks entering the NFL need to be flame retardant. In the case of Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, encasing himself in asbestos might have been the prudent move. Alas. Rather than remaining clear of an NFL spotlight that's sparked so many off-field wildfires over the years, Sanders opted to provide fresh kindling for a legion of critics waiting to pounce – cited by police for driving 101 miles per hour after midnight ET Tuesday morning in suburban Cleveland. The listed speed limit where he committed the infraction was 60 mph. Maybe you're thinking this isn't a big deal, easy enough to ascribe this mistake to youthful intemperance. And Sanders, 23, didn't cause an accident. He wasn't driving under the influence. His maximum legal exposure for a fourth-degree misdemeanor is a $250 fine. The Browns haven't issued a public statement. Nor has Sanders. And why should they? This incident – if it's even that – pretty plainly speaks for itself. 'I just feel like in life and everything, it's just me versus me, you know?' Sanders said following Cleveland's rookie minicamp last month. 'I can't control any other decision besides that. So, I just try to be my best self at all times.' Obviously, he fell short of that Tuesday morning. Still, it would be silly to suggest that this is or should be a fireable offense. However it's most certainly an (another?) unforced error from a player whose judgment outside the lines has drawn far more scrutiny in recent months than his generally reliable decision-making on the field. And it's fair to say a guy who's been running with the fourth stringers is further distinguishing himself in the Browns' crowded competition to be QB1 in 2025 – and that is not a compliment. There are three men ahead of Sanders on Cleveland's depth chart. Grizzled veteran Joe Flacco is a former Super Bowl MVP who also revitalized the Browns into a playoff squad in 2023. Kenny Pickett didn't pan out as a 2022 first-round pick for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he does have a 15-10 record as a starter in the NFL and earned a Super Bowl ring of his own last season as a backup with the Philadelphia Eagles. Like Sanders, Dillon Gabriel is a rookie. Gabriel was also drafted 50 spots ahead of Sanders following a distinguished college run that saw him start the most games ever (64) by a Division I quarterback while also accounting for an FBS record 190 career touchdowns. He led the University of Oregon to a No. 1 ranking last year and a berth in the College Football Playoff. Sanders (somehow?) got his No. 2 – a digit the Browns didn't even see fit to let him select – retired by the University of Colorado, which went 13-12 during his two seasons and didn't win a bowl game. Despite his unremarkable physical skill set, he was unequivocally one of the country's better college quarterbacks – though it also helped to play with Heisman Trophy-winning receiver Travis Hunter, the No. 2 overall pick of this year's draft. Nevertheless, neither Flacco, Pickett nor Gabriel has been ticketed for excessive speeding … or drawn flak for anything else of note in their personal lives. Sanders needs to prove he's a superior option to a trio of other ones who have reputations as sterling citizens and, in one context or another, solid quarterbacks. And don't forget, there are also quite a few notable players behind Sanders. Just since 2012, the year Jimmy Haslam became the club's owner, the Browns have spent first-round picks on the likes of Brandon Weeden and Baker Mayfield, the top pick in 2018. Cleveland traded back into Round 1 in 2014 to pick Johnny Manziel, then gave up the farm and a fully guaranteed $230 million contract to acquire troubled Deshaun Watson eight years later. (Remarkably – or maybe not since we're talking about the Browns – neither Watson nor Manziel ever led Cleveland in passing yards in a season even once.) It didn't take Haslam long to lose patience in Weeden or Manziel, who didn't last two years in the league thanks to his pitiful play and off-field transgressions. (And, as of June 2025, no one should be comparing Manziel's brand of hubris or very serious personal issues to anything Sanders has done, allegedly or otherwise − though the latter also isn't the must-see, dual threat football talent 'Johnny Football' once was.) Mayfield often played well – and frequently through pain when he doubtless would have been better off anywhere but a football field – for a fairly flawed team yet was still unceremoniously dumped in favor of Watson, who only remains on the roster himself due to his onerous contract. And these were all guys the Browns were heavily invested in. Though Sanders was widely expected to go in the first round of this year's draft, more than one draft pundit suggested the son of legendary Hall of Famer Deion Sanders would more likely be a Day 2 pick if his name was Shedeur Jones. Turns out, apparently since his name was Shedeur Sanders, who was never the kind of generational talent who was going to blind teams with scintillating gifts, he became a fifth-round flier – the type of player who doesn't even need to give a team a reason to cut him. Asked about his approach after Cleveland finally ended his highly scrutinized draft free fall in April, Sanders said this: 'Get there and handle my business. Do what I have to do, whatever role that is. I'm just thankful for the opportunity. So that's all I could ask for. 'The rest is on me.' Yep. Sanders should heed his own advice. If he's not much more careful, the next ticket he's served with could be the one-way variety – to football exile. All NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY's 4th and Monday newsletter.


Washington Post
42 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Travis Kelce's decision to return for another season with Chiefs wasn't much of a decision at all
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Travis Kelce said the decision to return for his 13th season with the Kansas City Chiefs wasn't much of a decision at all. In fact, the four-time All-Pro tight end indicated Wednesday that No. 14 isn't out of the question. 'I got one year on this contract, I know that. And we'll try to figure out something for next year,' Kelce said after the second day of the Chiefs' mandatory three-day minicamp, which was moved partially indoors because of lightning in the area. 'The Chiefs organization knows how much I love them. I can't see myself playing anywhere else,' Kelce continued. 'We'll deal with (2026) down the road, when the time is right. But right now, I'm focused on winning a championship this year.' The question of whether the 35-year-old would hang up his cleats was among the biggest to follow the Chiefs' lopsided loss to the Eagles in the Super Bowl. While he still played at a high level last season, Kelce saw his production dip noticeably — 97 catches for 823 yards and just three touchdowns for a team that won 15 regular-season games. Throw in Kelce's myriad business interests, including a successful media career thanks in part to his popular podcast, and his relationship with pop superstar Taylor Swift, and it made sense to wonder how much longer he would play. Yet it took only a matter of weeks for Kelce to decide to chase another championship. Part of it was the way last season's run had ended. Kelce had a throwback game in the divisional round against Houston with seven catches for 117 yards, but he had only four for 39 in the 40-22 loss to the Eagles in the Super Bowl. 'Really didn't feel like it was my last game. Just felt like I had a lot more to prove,' he said. 'Yeah, you want to let the emotions die down; you don't want to make a decision off initial emotions. Once they died down, I felt like I still had that fire in my chest to come in and keep building and chase another Super Bowl, man.' The Chiefs made it to the Super Bowl despite playing most of the season without their top two wide receivers, Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown, both of whom are fully healthy now after their injuries. They also made it despite massive issues at left tackle, which the Chiefs hope to have solved by drafting Ohio State standout Josh Simmons in the first round. Now, they have a motivated — and noticeably slimmer — Kelce back at tight end. There were reports that he had dropped about 25 pounds since the end of last season, though Kelce insisted that may have been an exaggeration. 'Don't believe all you read on the internet, guys. I'm down some weight from the end of last season — last year — but each year is different, man. You have to rebuild it,' he said. 'This year, I had some time to really focus on some form running and some things early in the offseason that I didn't have time for last year. Certainly feeling good and I think it'll pay off.' Patrick Mahomes certainly hopes so. After leading one of the NFL's most productive offenses early in his career, Mahomes has struggled to get the Chiefs on track the past couple of seasons, largely because of injuries and offensive line trouble. Still, the Chiefs' star quarterback said he never put any pressure on Kelce to return for another season. 'I think you have in the back of your mind, for anybody that's played a lot of seasons, there's always the chance if they're going to come back and put in the work,' Mahomes said. 'For him, I think it was just recalibrating, seeing where he was at, and from what I've seen, he's ready to go. He's put in the work this offseason and he's excited to make another run at it.' The Chiefs wrap up their three-day minicamp on Thursday, then break for about a month, before reuniting at Missouri Western State University for training camp. And while the thought of spending a few weeks living in college dorm rooms probably doesn't sound very enticing to Kelce, the prospect of starting another championship run there clearly drives him. 'I love this game. It's still my childhood dream,' Kelce said. 'When I really thought about it this offseason, I got back to wanting to focus on this game and getting the most out of this game as I can, while I'm still putting on the cleats and pads. This will always be No. 1 in terms of my business world and career path.' ___ AP NFL:
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Caitlin Clark Has $500,000 on Her Mind
Caitlin Clark Has $500,000 on Her Mind originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever are on the brink of winning their first title. This comes in the form of the Commissioner's Cup championship, for which they secured a spot after their 88-71 win against the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday. Advertisement With their victory against Connecticut, the Fever were able to win the Eastern Conference with a 4-1 record. They are now set to face the defending champions, the Minnesota Lynx, in the Commissioner's Cup Final on July 1. Apart from winning their first piece of silverware, Indiana will also be playing for the $500,000 prize pool. That's roughly $45,000 in each of the participating players' pockets, on top of the $5,000 cryptocurrency prize from Coinbase. Following Tuesday's win over the Sun, Clark spoke honestly about the upcoming Final. The 23-year-old also admitted that playing for half a million dollars serves as pretty good motivation for her and her team. 'Obviously, we're excited. That's a big deal,' Clark said, via Chloe Peterson of IndyStar. 'And, you know, obviously New York helped us out a little bit to get there. Advertisement "And it's a hard thing to do, and why wouldn't we celebrate that we're getting to play for a pool of money, like, that's pretty fun, and you're competing to win a trophy. Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark in the second half against the Connecticut Ruszkowski-Imagn Images "It's an extra game for us to get better as well. So obviously, we celebrated it, and we're proud of that.' It won't be an easy task for Indiana, though. Standing in their way is reigning Commissioner's Cup MVP Napheesa Collier and the Lynx, who own the best record in the WNBA right now at 11-1. The Cup Final on July 1 will be the first meeting between these two sides this season. It's the Lynx who won their season series last year, 2-1, and Minnesota is very likely going to be the favorites entering the upcoming championship game. Advertisement Related: Sophie Cunningham Draws Strong Reactions From Fever Fans After WNBA Punishment Related: WNBA Makes Caitlin Clark Announcement After Fever-Sun Game Related: Fever Coach Stephanie White Reveals Concerning Update on Tuesday This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 19, 2025, where it first appeared.