The Buffalo Bills made a minor move on Tuesday, signing tight end Shane Zylstra to a one-year contract and releasing kicker Maddux Trujillo.
Zylstra has been in the NFL since 2021, spending five seasons with the Detroit Lions. However, that’s not where his professional career began. The 29-year-old tight end entered the league as an undrafted free agent, signing with the Minnesota Vikings. This move made sense, given that he played college football at Minnesota State from 2015 to 2019.
Minnesota let Zylstra go during final roster cuts following training camp in 2021, after which he joined the Lions’ practice squad in September of that year. Zylstra appeared in 35 games with the Lions, recording 18 receptions for 136 yards and four scores.
Zylstra Suffered a Brutal Injury in 2023
During his five years with the Lions, Zylstra played in just four seasons of games. Unfortunately, in 2023, he suffered a season-ending injury during training camp within the first two weeks of practice. Zylstra was hit in the knee by his teammate Khalil Dorsey, and Lions head coach Dan Campbell wasn’t happy to see Zylstra get injured in the way he did during camp.
“First of all, feel awful for Zylstra,” Campbell said, via the Detroit News in August of 2023, via Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith.“Mygosh. He had the injury two years ago that man. That was a tough one. That was a tough injury he fought his way back from. And then you saw what he was able to do for us. He was a pivotal part of our success last year, once we started to turning the corner, and he just does everything right, man. He works, he’s a grinder, and then this one happens.
“Honestly, it shouldn’t happen. “No, we’re not OK with that, and it’s been addressed. These things happen — the physicality of the game in pads — but that was preventable. It’s not what we do. And believe me, Khalil feels awful, too. We get that, but we got to take care of each other. You still have to be physical, we got to work each other, we got to compete, but we still got to take care of each other. We talked about it and we move on.”
Zylstra’s season-ending injury in 2023 was a significant setback for him. The previous season in 2022 had been his best yet, as he recorded 11 receptions for 60 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games, and if he did see the field in 2023, he could have built on that.
Bills Will Meet Lions in Week 2
If Zylstra makes the Bills roster, he won’t have to wait long to see if his former team, Buffalo, will be hosting the Lions in Week 2 on “Thursday Night Football,” as the NFL announced on Monday.
This game will mark the Bills’ first home game of the season, as they open their new stadium that night. Buffalo will be hitting the road in Week 1, but the opponent is yet to be determined.
The NFL will release its full schedule on Thursday night, and that will be the first chance for the Bills to see the day and time of their other 16 games.
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