Sources: Bills bolster receiving corps with Palmer

The Buffalo Bills have reached agreement with former Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Joshua Palmer on a three-year, $36 million deal, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday.

Adding Palmer brings a new outside receiver to the Bills offense with two of the team’s receivers –Mack Hollins and Amari Cooper — set to become free agents Wednesday. The team has also recently signed slot receiver Khalil Shakir, who had one year left on his contract, to a four-year extension.

After the Chargers moved on from wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, Palmer, who had played behind them for three seasons, appeared poised for an increased role, but that never materialized. Palmer finished the season with 39 catches for 584 yards and one touchdown.

At 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, Palmer’s combination of speed and physicality had made him a reliable target for Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, particularly on third downs or 2-point conversions, where Palmer routinely made contested catches.

Still, Palmer took a backseat in 2024 to rookie Ladd McConkey, who had more yards, receptions and touchdowns than Palmer has ever had in a season in his career.

For the Bills, Palmer brings another option for quarterback Josh Allen to add into what the team does at wide receiver as they look to build out the room following departures last offseason. Allen has shown the ability to elevate the players around him as seen in Hollins coming off a career-year. The Bills will likely look to continue to address the position.

Palmer, 25, missed three games in 2024 — one with a calf and elbow injury and the Chargers’ final regular-season and postseason games with a heel injury. Palmer appeared in all 17 games during his rookie season, the only time he was able to do that in his career.

Palmer is a native of Ontario, Canada, and played four years at the University of Tennessee before the Chargers selected him in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft.

He has 182 catches for 2,287 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career.

ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg and Kris Rhim contributed to this report.