Potential breakout WR misses Bills minicamp practice with lower-body injury

The Buffalo Bills were without wide receiver Khalil Shakir as they continued their 2024 mandatory minicamp Wednesday afternoon.

The third-year receiver missed Wednesday’s practice after leaving Tuesday’s session with an apparent lower-body injury. Reporters at One Bills Drive saw Shakir on the sidelines of Wednesday’s practice, but the player did not participate. Journalist Alex Brasky posted a video on social media in which Shakir is seen standing on the sidelines while wearing a sleeve on his left leg.

WKBW sports director Matt Bové posted an image of Shakir and noted that he “had been working on the sidelines,” indicating that the injury was probably not as serious as some initially feared.

Shakir missing minicamp practice isn’t ideal, but it’s not the end of the world. He already has a demonstrated rapport with quarterback Josh Allen, emerging during a sophomore season in which he caught 39 passes for 611 yards and two touchdowns. He is the only wide receiver on Buffalo’s roster to catch a pass from Allen in a regular season game, and his role is expected to increase in importance in the 2024 campaign following the offseason departures of Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis. His missing minicamp won’t jeopardize his role, and it’s encouraging that the injury apparently isn’t as serious as it could have been.

Shakir’s illness adds him to a long list of Buffalo injuries, usually unusual for minicamp teams; Ten players missed or participated on a limited basis in Tuesday’s practice, with head coach Sean McDermott saying the team had been “hit by the injury bug.”