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The Buffalo Bills are getting criticized for a move they made ahead of 2026-27 that involved letting a value player walk.

Buffalo Bills rookie receiver Skyler Bell is expected to compete for a spot on the depth chart, but got off to a rough start at OTAs this week.

Bell suffered an early miscue during the team’s practice, committing a turnover in a drill where defenses were already at a disadvantage. While Bell will have plenty of chances to prove himself over the course of the summer, his early mistake caught some attention.

Skyler Bell’s Early Turnover Grabs Attention

As Syracuse.com’s Matt Parrino reported, Bell had one of the lowlights of the team’s practice when he allowed a defender to strip the ball after he made a catch.

“Bell is getting his first chance to catch passes from Allen this week,” Parrino wrote. “On one play early in 7 on 7, Bell made a nice catch in the short area before turning it upfield. It was hard to tell who popped the ball out, but linebacker Terrel Bernard and cornerback Dee Alford were in the play. Bell put the ball on the grass, and the defense recovered it.”

The offense has an inherent advantage in 7-on-7 drills, where there is no hitting allowed and no pads.

Bell had already gotten off to a tough start at rookie minicamp, dropping some passes and earning some extra attention from head coach Joe Brady in the process. Bell said the team’s new head coach told him to stop worrying so much and get out of his own head.

“He was just telling me just to be myself and stop overthinking,” Bell said, via NYUP.com. “That’s all it is with me. I was just in my head a little bit and getting jitters and things like that. And he was just telling me just be yourself and once you’re here, you’re here for a reason.”

Bell said he had another minor mistake when visiting Brady’s office, leading to a light-hearted moment between the coach and rookie receiver.

“He was making fun of me up in the office (because) I wore my cleats up there by accident. He was getting on me about that,” Bell said. “He’s cool, man. He’s about ball, he’s a football junkie.”

Skyler Bell Has Chance to Climb the Depth Chart

Despite the early miscues, the fourth-round draft pick is still expected to take on a meaningful role this season. Reporter Sal Maiorana of the Democrat & Chronicle predicted that he could surpass Keon Coleman on the depth chart. Coleman is also on thin ice after getting into some disciplinary problems last year, leading the team to bench him twice.

“Unless something changes, Coleman is going to battle for the No. 4 spot in the rotation, and the only real threat right now would seem to be Bell,” Maiorana wrote. “As ESPN’s Mel Kiper said after the pick was made Saturday, ‘Josh Allen is going to love Skyler Bell’ so if he can seamlessly make the transition to the NFL, Coleman could be in trouble no matter how much love Beane and Brady have showered him with.”

Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty