Bills' primary return specialist faces new competition after playoff relegation

Overall, it turned out to be a shrewd addition to the Buffalo Bills' roster.

General manager Brandon Beane pulled off a roster cutdown day trade with the New York Jets for undrafted rookie Brandon Codrington, who had been nothing shy of electrifying while returning kicks during preseason games.

The Bills almost immediately slid Codrington into a primary return specialist role, and the small-school product proved to be both reliable and effective as he appeared in all 17 regular season games.

After totaling 925 return yards, including an impressive 11.6 punt return average, Codrington was put on the shelf for the playoffs.

In what appeared to be a roster numbers game, the Bills made the rookie return specialist, who was slightly banged-up in Week 18, a gameday inactive for all three postseason contests. Instead, Buffalo turned to starting wide receiver Khalil Shakir to handle punt return duties while backup running back Ray Davis was used to return kickoffs.

Now, as Codrington gears up for his second NFL campaign, he faces competition for the right to retain his return specialist role. In free agency, the Bills added former second-round draft pick Laviska Shenault to its wide receiving corps, but his only realistic path to a 53-man roster spot is through providing additional value as a special teams contributor.