It appears that the Buffalo Bills are on the board in free agency as reports have them signing wide receiver Josh Palmer to a three-year deal worth up to $36 million.
Palmer – who was born and raised in the Toronto suburb or Brampton – has spent his entire four-year career with the Chargers, having been picked in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Across four seasons he caught 182 of 266 targets for 2,287 yards and 10 TDs. Those numbers don’t blow you away, especially given that he was playing with a star QB in Justin Herbert, but Palmer, who turns 26 in September, feels like a player on the rise.
Last year he caught 39 of 65 targets for 584 yards and one TD, and 28 of those receptions resulted in first downs. His average depth of target was a career-high 15.2 yards and to put that into perspective, there were only two receivers with more targets than Palmer who had a higher depth of target — Alec Pearce of the Colts and Calvin Ridley of the Titans.
That’s what the Bills need in their receiving corps. Palmer isn’t a burner, but he can separate down the field and make plays. According to Pro Football Focus, 38.1% of his 2024 targets came in the 10-19-yard range, and another 28.6% were 20 yards or more. Combined, he caught 24 of 42 passes in those ranges for 486 yards with just two drops.
Specifically against zone coverage, Herbert had a superb 108.0 passer rating when throwing to Palmer which was 37th-best among 191 wideouts who were targeted at least once. The downside is Herbert’s rating when going to Palmer against man coverage was only 71.9 which ranked 136th.
Last year Palmer played in 15 games for the Chargers and caught 39 passes for 584 yards and one touchdown.
He will now join a receiving corps that includes 2024 second-round pick Keon Coleman, newly-extended Khalil Shakir, and 2024 free agent signee Curtis Samuel.
The Bills have two free agent receivers in Amari Cooper and Mack Hollins, and the Palmer signing essentially eliminates Cooper from returning to Buffalo because he will likely be looking for at least $10 million per season, perhaps more. Hollins remains a possibility for a return, but he might be seeking a steep increase in pay from the $2.6 million he played for in 2024.
