The Buffalo Bills signed Dante Pettis on Day 2 of training camp and waived wide receiver Jalen Virgil in the corresponding move, keeping their roster churn tied to the search for answers on special teams. Pettis comes in after the Bills worked out several players, and the timing points to a team still sorting out who can help most right now.
That is the part that makes Pettis worth watching. Buffalo needs a starting punt returner, and it has already tried Keon Coleman, Mecole Hardman, Mac Dalena and Max Tomczak in that role on Day 1 of camp. Pettis, 27, gives the Bills another veteran option to evaluate while the rest of the room keeps shifting around him.
Pettis was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft and spent the first two full seasons of his career there before moving through San Francisco and the New York Giants in 2020. He played for the New York Giants in 2021, then the Chicago Bears in 2022, and did not appear in a game in 2023 before spending the last two seasons with the New Orleans Saints. Over that stretch, he appeared in 16 games for New Orleans, caught 21 passes for 247 yards and one touchdown, and handled 20 punt returns and 18 kick returns.
That background helps explain why Buffalo is looking at him now. The Bills have used Khalil Shakir exclusively on offense after the past two seasons, and Pettis brought most of his value in New Orleans on special teams. He averaged 6.1 yards per punt return in 2025 and 23.4 yards per kick return in 2025, numbers that fit a team still trying to settle the return job.
There is still a catch. Pettis may be useful to Buffalo as a returner, but he is viewed as a long shot to make the team as a pass catcher, which leaves the real battle tied to whether he can separate himself on special teams fast enough to matter when roster cuts arrive. Jalen Virgil failed his physical on the eve of camp Tuesday, so the Bills have already shown they are willing to make short-term adjustments to keep that competition moving.
For Pettis, the next few practices will not be about reputation. They will be about whether Buffalo sees him as more than depth and whether that search for a punt returner finally lands on a name that sticks.
