Formerly on the New York Guardians roster, Gentry has also worked with Josh Allen during their shared time in Wyoming.
The Buffalo Bills have signed a pair of receivers to their practice squad as they prepare for their 2021 postseason run, one of whom is former XFL draft pick Tanner Gentry. Buffalo also added NFL veteran Kenny Stills as they prepare for their AFC Wild Card playoff showdown against the Indianapolis Colts (1:05 p.m. ET, CBS).
Gentry, 26, was chosen by the New York Guardians in the third round of the skill players’ portion of the XFL Draft in 2019, though he did not appear in a regular season game.
The receiver was placed on injured reserve with an unspecified issue and was inactive for each of the Guardians’ five games. Prior NFL experience came with the Chicago Bears during the 2017-18 seasons, during which Gentry picked up 35 yards on a trio of receptions.
Signing with Buffalo presents a reunion between Gentry and Bills quarterback and MVP candidate Josh Allen. The two previously worked together at the University of Wyoming, where Gentry put up a Mountain West Conference-best 1,326 receiving yards and 14 touchdown receptions during his senior year of 2016. Their final collaboration saw Allen find Gentry seven times for 113 yards and two scores in the 2016 Poinsettia Bowl against BYU.
Gentry joins fellow former Guardian Jarron Jones as ex-New York XFLers to potentially partake in the AFC playoffs, as the latter currently resides on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad, though he’s currently out with an injury. Pittsburgh is slated to take on the Cleveland Browns in the Sunday night portion of Wild Card weekend (8:15 p.m. ET, NBC).
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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
