Ohio State Buckeyes Legend's NFL Career Hanging in the Balance

The 2024 NFL campaign was not exactly kind to former Ohio State Buckeyes star Curtis Samuel, as the wide receiver lumbered through a trying season with the Buffalo Bills.

Initially viewed as one of Josh Allen's top weapons heading into the year, Samuel logged just 31 catches for 253 yards and a touchdown, marking his worst production in a healthy campaign since his rookie season back in 2017.

It was a rather sharp decline for Samuel, who caught a respectable 62 passes for 613 yards and four scores with the Washington Commanders the year prior. But now, with Samuel preparing to enter his ninth NFL campaign, it seems pretty obvious that his professional career is on the line.

The 28-year-old is going into the second year of a three-year contract he signed with the Bills last offseason, and there is an out in his deal after 2025. That means Buffalo can simply cut ties with the Ohio State product if he does not perform this coming season, and if he plays anything like he did in 2024, it seems hard to imagine the Bills keeping Samuel for another campaign.

That would be the aging Samuel in a rather difficult position. He is not the versatile threat he once was during his Carolina Panthers days, when he was featured as both a pass-catcher and a ball-carrier, much like his explosive three-year tenure at Columbus.

Samuel's best NFL season came with the Panthers in 2020, when he hauled in 77 receptions for 851 yards and three touchdowns while also carrying the ball 41 times for 200 yards and a pair of scores. Think of Deebo Samuel.

But Buffalo gave the Brooklyn, N.Y. native all of five rushing attempts last year, and he managed just 14 yards on those totes.

Contrast that with Samuel's run with the Buckeyes, particularly in 2016 when he snared 97 balls for 771 yards while reaching the end zone eight times as a receiver alongside of 865 yards and seven touchdowns as a rusher. Remember: Samuel also helped Ohio State win a national title in 2014.

In a modern NFL where offenses are becoming more and more dynamic, Samuel stands the risk of being phased out, and it may have already started happening last season.

There is no question that Samuel must produce in 2025, or else his NFL career may be in serious jeopardy.