The New England Patriots needed a wide receiver a lot less than the Buffalo Bills do.
Yet it was the Pats who on Tuesday signed a logical veteran WR from free agency to their practice squad. It's one less guy the Bills could consider after Gabe Davis and Tyrell Shavers both went down with torn ACLs.
The newest Patriots is Trent Sherfield, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
Sherfield has played eight seasons in the NFL, including 17 games in the 2023 season for the Bills.
He has also suited up for the Cardinals, 49ers, Dolphins, Vikings and Broncos.
Sherfield has 89 career catches in 124 games, for 1,034 yards and six touchdowns.
This season, he played 10 games for the Broncos and caught three passes. He also played two games for Arizona and didn't reel in his lone target.
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He's 29 years old, 6-foot-1 and undrafted out of Vanderbilt.
Sherfield was just released earlier this week by the Cardinals, whose season ended in Week 18.
The Patriots currently have five healthy WRs on the active roster: Stefon Diggs, Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III.
The practice squad now has three wideouts, also including John Jiles and Jeremiah Webb.
They recently placed Mack Hollins on IR.
It's a logical move for New England to make since they had the spot to do it. But it does cut off one avenue for potential improvement for the Bills, which can't have hurt in their motivation to get a contract signed with Sherfield.
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