Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane explained on Tuesday why he waived wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins mid-season in 2022, a move that has puzzled many.
Hodgins was scooped up by the New York Giants and made an immediate impact for Big Blue during their playoff run last fall.
“If you look back with us, in the preseason, Isaiah the last two preseasons made a lot of great plays for us,” Beane told reporters. “It’s a numbers game, and so, unfortunately, you’ve got to figure out who you can get active and Isaiah not making our roster was more of a special teams thing than wide receiver. But love who he is and enjoyed watching his success up there with Brian (Daboll) and wish him nothing but the best.”
Ultimately, Beane said, he’s not at all surprised by Hodgins’ success and he expects it to continue.
Asked #Bills GM Brandon Beane about @IsaiahHodgins. Said he wasn’t surprised at all by success he had with #Giants and expects it to continue. Putting him on waivers was about needing WR5 there to play more special teams
— Ryan Dunleavy (@rydunleavy) February 28, 2023
Hodgins was a sixth-round pick by Buffalo out of Oregon State in 2020 but did not play his first NFL game until Week 16 of the 2021 season. He would only record stats in one game for the Bills. That was in Week 5 last season when he caught four passes for 41 yards against Pittsburgh.
After being picked up by the Giants, Hodgins played in eight games (starting five) racking up 352 yards on 33 receptions with four touchdowns.
For the record, Hodgins did not appear on special teams for the Giants last season.
