The Buffalo Bills have set their Week 1 return plan, and Greg Dortch is the name at the center of it.
The team announced Saturday afternoon that Dortch will be elevated for the season opener against the Houston Texans, which strongly points to him handling punt-return duties in Houston and, likely, beyond that. After the preseason, Buffalo didn’t have a clear winner for the job, and that opened the door for the Bills to bring in Dortch after he was surprisingly released by the Detroit Lions.
Dortch arrives with real experience in that role. He has 99 punt returns on his NFL résumé, and his average has climbed in each of the last four seasons. Last year, he averaged 11.6 yards per return, which was tied for seventh-best in the league.
He also gives Buffalo something more than just special teams help. The Bills kept only five wide receivers on their initial 53-man roster, and Dortch makes six.
In six NFL seasons, he has totaled 145 catches for 1,310 yards and has carved out a reputation as a short-area, gadget-style target who can do damage after the catch. Over the past two seasons, he forced 25 missed tackles on only 79 targets and 66 receptions.
Whether he gets work on offense against Houston remains to be seen, but his role as the punt returner looks all but locked in.
The other elevation is Frank Gore Jr., and that move suggests Ty Johnson, who is listed as questionable for the game, is unlikely to play.
Gore, the son of the back with the third-most career rushing yards in NFL history, put together a third straight strong preseason with Buffalo. He averaged 4.6 yards per carry on 26 attempts.
The 24-year-old has not yet logged a regular-season carry, but he was active for the Bills’ wild-card win over the Jaguars in January and caught one pass for six yards. He could be in line to factor into Buffalo’s offense when it opens the 2026 regular season in Houston.
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Bills Week 1 Move Reveals More Than A Routine Roster Call
The Bills first roster move of the season came with a little more substance than a standard Week 1 transaction. Buffalo elevated running back Frank Gore Jr. and wide receiver Greg Dortch from the practice squad for Sundays game against the Texans, a sign that the team is already leaning on its depth to get through the opener. Gore is needed because Ty Johnson is dealing with a hamstring injury, while Dortch gives Buffalo another option in the return game and some flexibility on offense.
Those additions also fit into a broader picture of how the Bills are lining up for Houston. Along with the elevations, defensive lineman T.J. Sanders and defensive back Jordan Hancock are listed as questionable, giving Buffalo a few moving parts on both sides of the ball before kickoff. For a team trying to start clean in September, the early read is clear: this is not just paperwork, it is a snapshot of how quickly depth can matter. [Read more 🡒]