Bills’ Khalil Shakir will accept any role he’s given vs. the Steelers
The Buffalo Bills problems with injury have added up, but now it has provided Khalil Shakir with his first big NFL opportunity.
The fifth-round rookie got his first taste of an expanded role in the Bills offense last week against the Baltimore Ravens. Once Jamison Crowder (ankle) went down, Shakir stepped up to return punts and eventually made his first-career catch.
Upon the news that Crowder will miss extended time, Shakir is the one the team will turn to again.
But the rookie is not putting all the pressure in the world on himself ahead of that, he’s just ready to do whatever the team needs.
“It’s definitely an adjustment, but the way I looked at it was I’m blessed to be here,” Shakir said via video conference. “I’m blessed to walk through these doors every single day and be around the guys that I am around. So what I’m going to do is accept my role. Whatever my role is that week. They want me to go out there on scout team and week one be Cooper Kupp, star in that role. Be who they want me to be that day and my time will come. I’m not worried about that at all. Star in my role, know my role, prepare for my role and give them everything I got every single day.”
That attitude makes his coaches comfortable with him. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott said he’s “confident” in the next-man up, and specifically if it’s Shakir.
Those around Shakir in the Bills locker room feel the same.
Buffalo’s top playmaker, Stefon Diggs, spoke on Shakir’s preparation following the team’s win against the Ravens.
“I spoke highly of him in training camp as far as how he approaches the game,” Diggs said via the team’s website. “And going into this game, he was active. But he never prepares like he’s not ready, so I have full confidence in him.”
How much Shakir actually gets involved in the offense is something that remains to be seen.
With Crowder out, Shakir could get a handful of snap. But the Bills are also monitoring the status of Isaiah McKenzie. If he does so advance fully through the NFL’s concussion protocol, it could be a busy day for Shakir against the Steelers on Sunday.
