Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins complained that the team is making him look bad by not getting the ball in his hands.
Watkins, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft who has been sidelined with a calf injury, is upset with the Bills about his number of touches.
"I need the ball at least 10 times -- I need 10 targets -- and l'll be fine with however many yards I get," Watkins told The Buffalo News this week. "And that's what I addressed in talking with my agent. We reached out to a couple people and tried to pull some string like, 'Hey, I need my targets. You came up to draft me and I'm not getting targets -- that's a problem.'
"'You're making me look bad, and you're making yourself look bad. Why not make both of us look good?'"
Watkins' latest injury to a calf has kept him out of the lineup since a Sept. 27 win over the Miami Dolphins. He has sustained six injuries during his short time in Buffalo but never missed a regular-season game before his current absence.
Watkins said he wanted to play so much on Sunday against the unbeaten Cincinnati Bengals that he would risk further injury to be on the field. Bills coach Rex Ryan reaffirmed this week that he will make the final call on Watkins' status.
In the first two games of the season before the injury, Watkins, Percy Harvin and Charles Clay each were targeted 10 times by quarterback Tyrod Taylor.
"For a guy you go up in the draft to take as your No. 1 receiver, you would love those 15 targets that Julio (Jones) gets, those 20 targets that Odell (Beckham Jr.) gets," Watkins said. "Of course, I'd have 100 yards every game and a TD if I'm getting 20 targets."
Watkins finished with 65 receptions for 982 yards and six touchdowns last season as a rookie.
"Everybody looks at you getting zero catches, zero yards, but when you look on film, 90 percent of the time you're open," Watkins said. "I understand that these guys are young and they need some time to trust me. Once we get that trust, it'll be different.
"That's what I get mad at: when I don't get looked at. I can look at film, and his eyes go straight that way and I'm not getting looked at, at all. That's when I get frustrated. When I have one-on-one coverage, go to me. I don't care what's going on over there. I don't care if he's open. When I get one-on-one, just target me."
