ORCHARD PARK — The last time Trent Sherfield Sr. played for the Buffalo Bills he thought it was the start of something special. His return is an attempt to regain that feeling.
When the Bills signed Sherfield in 2023, there was reason to believe he could shed his reputation as a special teams ace and establish himself as a wide receiver. Sherfield was coming off a 30-catch, 417-yard season with the Miami Dolphins and the Bills were rebuilding the receiving corps.
Sherfield ranked fourth among Bills receivers in snaps, playing nearly 34% of the offensive plays. But it only produced 11 receptions for 86 yards. After his contract expired, Sherfield was a key special teams player for the Minnesota Vikings in 2024.
He signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Denver Broncos in 2025, but was waived after 10 games. It was the first time Sherfield was released in his eight-year career. He spent some time on the Arizona Cardinals practice squad, then signed to the New England Patriots ' practice squad during the playoffs, only to get released and re-signed again.
"It's been tough, not going to lie," Sherfield told GNN Sports after practice Monday. "Last year was really tough. First time being cut in eight years. … It was a lot of moving around. It was really tough on me mentally, obviously tough on my family too. But I think it's a full-circle moment coming back here."
Sherfield loved to puff his chest out over the fact that he had never been released, and rightfully so. Few receivers can last seven seasons without being released, let alone an undrafted free agent who caught more than 20 passes in a season once.
With his wife and two young children, Sherfield — a Danville, Illinois native — established a home base in Nashville, where he want to college at Vanderbilt. But last season still required Sherfield to change his mindset and view everything from a different lens.
"A lot of people get cut. Top guys get released all the time and I think it's just a perspective change," Sherfield said. "... My perspective has changed a lot. … I just told myself that I wasn't going to allow my career to end like that. I've always told myself that I want to go out on my own terms and that the league would never push me out."
Sherfield's drive to stay in the league led him back to Buffalo in the spring, signing a one-year contract. There were a few familiar faces awaiting him. Head coach Joe Brady became offensive coordinator during the last half of Sherfield's first run with the Bills, while wide receivers coach Drew Terrell had the same position in Arizona last year and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael was an assistant in Denver.
"I think he has a comfort level in understanding his role in the league," Brady said. "... He's such a selfless football player. I love Trent. The personality that he has, the way he goes about it, he's a leader in that room. He wanted to be part of Buffalo and he's doing everything he can to try to continue to be a part of the Buffalo Bills."
Until catching four passes for 54 yards in Buffalo's 31-7 preseason win over the Cleveland Browns Saturday, Sherfield hadn't made much noise as a receiver during training camp. But that's not how Sherfield is going to find his way onto the 53-man roster.
Many teams reserve a receiver spot to a player who can play on the core-four special teams — punt and punt return and kickoff and kick return — and can add value as a blocker in the run game. With Tyrell Shavers not due back from his torn ACL until the back half of the season, Sherfield is the only receiver on the roster that fits the mold if the Bills still desire a player like that.
Sherfield won't ever give up on making his bones as a receiver, but he also knows his skill set and the value he can provide a team as a special teams ace.
"That is something that I take pride in now," Sherfield said. "Not to say that I never took pride in it before, but I think I'm a little bit more intentional about it. Again, I think it's all in my perspective. Just making sure that my perspective is shifted in having gratitude I'm in Year Nine and things could have been different for me this past free agency, especially after being let go."
