Hours after coach Rex Ryan noted that Leonard Hankerson was "horrible" in the preseason opener, the Buffalo Bills have cut ties with the nomadic wide receiver.
Hankerson was released on Monday, NFL Media's Rand Getlin reported, via a source familiar with the transaction.
Ryan emphasized a low tolerance for the same type of mental and physical mistakes that undermined the Bills' 2015 season. Cutting Hankerson after three drops on Saturday sets an example for the rest of the team.
Between Percy Harvin's retirement and Chris Hogan's defection to New England, the Bills have one of the shallowest wide receiver corps in the league. From the crowd of journeyman Greg Salas, second-year pro Walter Powell, track-and-field star Marquise Goodwin and offseason hype bunny Dez Lewis, the hope is that one steps forward to claim the No. 3 job behind Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods.
The oft-injured Hankerson flashed promise in Atlanta last September, before hamstring issues led to his Falcons release in December. If he couldn't take advantage of a prime opportunity in Buffalo, though, his NFL future seems bleak.
