Greg Dortch is headed back to the place where his story started.
The Buffalo Bills are signing the veteran wide receiver and return specialist to their practice squad, according to multiple reports, giving a Rochester-born player a shot to help fix one of the team’s biggest special teams issues. Buffalo entered the season without an experienced punt returner on its initial 53-man roster, and the search for stability in that role stretched through training camp.
Dortch, 28, looks like a natural fit for the job. Last season with the Arizona Cardinals, he averaged 11.6 yards on 16 punt returns, good for 11th in the NFL. The Bills, by comparison, averaged just 6.5 yards on 30 punt returns in 2025, which ranked 28th in the league.
Buffalo cycled through several options during camp, using Ray Davis, Keon Coleman, Mecole Hardman, Skyler Bell and Khalil Shakir as punt returners. Davis muffed a punt in the preseason finale against the Steelers, while Hardman - who made the Pro Bowl as a return specialist in 2019 - was released during final roster cuts.
Dortch’s résumé goes well beyond one strong punt-return season. Over his NFL career, he has returned 99 punts for 886 yards and 75 kickoffs for 1,773 yards.
He has also produced as a receiver, with 145 catches for 1,310 yards and 10 touchdowns. His punt return average has climbed every year over the last three seasons, rising from 6.6 yards in 2022 to 9.5 in 2023, 9.6 in 2024 and 11.6 last season.
The 5-foot-7, 180-pound receiver spent five seasons in Arizona before signing a one-year deal with the Detroit Lions in March. Detroit cut him during final roster moves on Sunday.
Buffalo also has some built-in familiarity with him. Bills wide receivers coach Drew Terrell and special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers both coached Dortch in Arizona. Terrell spent five seasons with the Cardinals before joining Buffalo this offseason, while Rodgers was Arizona’s special teams coordinator during Dortch’s run there.
Dortch was born in Rochester in 1998 before his family moved to Virginia when he was young. He attended Highland Springs High School, then Wake Forest, where he became one of college football’s top return men. In 2018, he was a first-team All-American after taking two punts back for touchdowns.
His pro path was far less direct. Dortch went undrafted in 2019 and spent time with the New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons before carving out a role in Arizona.
His best season as a receiver came in 2022, when he caught 52 passes for 467 yards and two touchdowns. Last season, he had 29 receptions for 206 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games before a chest injury sent him to injured reserve.
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