Who Should I Start? Sterling Shepard or Damiere Byrd

Monday, August 26, 2:35 PM

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers released veteran wide receiver Sterling Shepard on Monday, according to a source. The 31-year-old pass-catcher signed with Tampa with the hopes of rekindling his rapport with old teammate Baker Mayfield. It may still happen, though, as the Bucs are holding a practice spot for him. The former second-round pick by the New York Giants in 2016 out of Oklahoma had a career-high 872 receiving yards in 2018, but injuries pretty much derailed what was once a promising career. Shepard was unable to play in more than 12 games from 2019-22. In 15 games (two starts) last year in New York's terrible offense, he caught just 10 of 22 targets for 57 yards and one touchdown. An undisclosed injury also kept Shepard out of all three preseason games with the Buccaneers. If he re-signs with the team, he'll merely be providing depth at the position behind Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Jalen McMillan and others.

Sunday, August 25, 6:20 PM

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Damiere Byrd has been released by the organization on Sunday. The veteran latched onto the Bills in August after being cut by the Washington Commanders. Byrd spent most of his 2023 campaign on the practice squad with the Atlanta Falcons. He caught his lone pass of the preseason for 20 yards during Saturday's game. His best year came with the New England Patriots in 2020 when he caught 47 passes for 604 yards and one touchdown in 16 games. Since then, Byrd hasn't done anything noteworthy, so now he'll look to catch on elsewhere as depth.