Bills tackle Brandon Shell not at practice, and team places 7th-year player on reserve-retired list
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Recently signed offensive tackle Brandon Shell was not present at the Buffalo Bills' practice on Tuesday, with the team announcing the 31-year-old intends to retire after seven NFL seasons.
Shell, who was placed on the reserve-retired list, signed with the Bills on June 1 and was considered the primary backup to starting right guard Spencer Brown on the team’s depth chart. His departure thins Buffalo’s veteran depth at the position, leaving the team with only two backup tackles with NFL experience — sixth-year player David Quessenberry and Tommy Doyle, who is entering his third season.
Shell played 18 snaps, including one on special teams, in a 23-19 preseason-opening win against Indianapolis on Saturday. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 324 pounds, Shell started 11 games for Miami last season after being promoted off the Dolphins’ practice squad. He spent his first four seasons with the New York Jets and spent two years with the Seattle Seahawks.
Overall, he had 72 starts in 83 career NFL games, and was a four-year starter at South Carolina before being selected by the Jets in the fifth round of the 2016 draft.
Shell’s great-uncle is Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman Art Shell, who spent his 15-year career with the Raiders.
In other developments Tuesday, backup linebacker Tyler Matakevich was cleared for practice and activated from the physically unable to perform list. The eighth-year player, who has been a fixture on the Bills' special teams, was sidelined by a calf injury since training camp opened three weeks ago.
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