PITTSFORD — Tyrell Shavers is always there. Watching, encouraging, joking.
Shavers doesn't have to be there. He could focus all his energy on rehabbing his torn ACL. Instead, he's attended every practice from minicamps through training camp.
"They're going through the dog days right now," Shavers told GNN Sports after practice Friday. "I'm just trying to provide a little energy for the guys whenever they can't find it themselves."
Energy is something Shavers has plenty of. He's also got a lot of toughness packed into his 6-foot-4, 211-pound body.
When the Buffalo Bills wide receiver tore his ACL, it was a routine play. He was on the punt return team late in the second quarter of the AFC wild-card round against the Jacksonville Jaguars . He simply took an awkward step and his left knee buckled.
Trainers took Shavers to the locker room, where they told him he likely tore his ACL. Shavers didn't feel like it was torn. He felt like he could play. They tested it at halftime and he returned to the game.
Shavers didn't just play sparingly on his knee, he played 23 second-half snaps. He was on the field for both of Buffalo's touchdowns in the fourth quarter, playing eight of nine plays on its go-ahead touchdown drive and helped spring quarterback Josh Allen 's 10-yard tush push that set up the touchdown.
And when the Bills lined up to take a knee to clinch the 27-24 win, Shavers was lined up in the backfield.
"Based on how I was feeling, I was like, 'There's no way (I have a torn ACL),'" Shavers said. "So we got to try everything we can and went to the locker room, threw on a brace, came out of halftime and did some things, and I was like, 'All right, we got to go. I'm feeling all right. I can do it.' I was able to, so I did."
The following morning yielded different results, though. Shavers woke up and couldn't put any pressure on his leg. His season was over.
Shavers could have disappeared after going on injured reserve, it's not uncommon for that to happen in the NFL. But Shavers was visible the following week in the team facility and he remained in Buffalo throughout the offseason.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane joked that you can set your watch from between 6 a.m. to 6:05 a.m. and Shavers will be in the trainer's room pouring a saltwater bath. Beane sees Shavers attack his rehab the same way he did after getting cut from the active roster after his first two training camps.
"He's one of those guys, he is steady," Beane said. "... Even when he made the practice squad, there were a couple times he was frustrated he didn't make our roster. But he didn't change his approach. It's frustrating sometimes to have an injury that takes nine-month to a year or whatever it takes sometimes, but you wouldn't see it on his face."
The Bills don't have a timetable on Shavers' return. He was placed on the physically unable to perform list to start the season and will likely head to injured reserve on cutdown day. Because he sustained the injury in January, Shavers likely won't return until the back half of the season.
That part is frustrating to Shavers. He battled to make the final roster last season after missing during his first two seasons as an undrafted free agent.
Shavers ultimately played in every regular-season game, logging the third-most snaps amongst Bills receivers, trailing only Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman . And he trailed only Shakir over the last eight games. He finished the season with 15 receptions for 245 yards and a touchdown.
"It's hard. Very tough," Shavers said. "I miss being out there. I love being out there with the guys. So trying to get back as soon as possible."
