Aug. 11, 2017, was a monumental day in the life of wide receiver Jordan Matthews. To most in the NFL, it was just an ordinary day. It was a day so close to the start of the season you can almost hear the crowds roar and the whistle blow.

To a select few in the NFL, Aug. 11 is when lives changed. On that day, the Buffalo Bills traded star wide receiver Sammy Watkins and a sixth-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for cornerback E.J. Gaines and a second-round pick. Shortly after, the Bills dealt cornerback Ronald Darby to the Philadelphia Eagles for Matthews and a third-round pick. When all was said and done, two wide receivers from one of the most prolific draft classes had changed cities.

It was business.

For Matthews, he went from building on chemistry with quarterback Carson Wentz to a team that was 17 seasons removed from its last playoff game. It was a major change of scenery and tough for all parties involved.

“On the personal side, it’s tough,” Wentz said to ESPN in emotional remarks. “This is my first time experiencing this with someone that’s one of my best friends. Seeing him yesterday, it’s tough on him, too. It’s kind of out of the blue.”

After the trade, things for Matthews got even tougher.

In Matthews’ first practice with Buffalo, he suffered a chip fracture in his sternum. It caused him to forfeit most of what little time remained before the season to develop chemistry with quarterback Tyrod Taylor.

Matthews, nonetheless, persisted.

He worked with Taylor for hours, talking about chemistry and what they expect of each other. They went back to the drawing board and to the film room to better understand what each other was thinking and doing when the ball was snapped. Building chemistry with a quarterback when you can’t physically work with him might be as tough as playing blindfolded. You have a general idea of what’s going on, but it’s just not clear. On top of it all, Taylor wasn’t able to be around the entire time after suffering a concussion in the third preseason game.

Bills fans began to get doubtful.

Their former star wide receiver is now playing on the opposite side of the country. Anquan Boldin decided to call it quits just short of two weeks after coming to Buffalo, putting even more pressure on Matthews, a distant relative of arguably the best wide receiver to ever play the game, Jerry Rice, to be out there.

When the season kicked off against the New York Jets, whatever skepticism of Matthews that was out there dissipated. Taylor and Matthews connected for a 47-yard pass in the third quarter, which later led to a touchdown. It was needed, not only for the team but for the chemistry that the duo would try to build on.

As the season progressed, the Bills and Matthews went one way, while Matthews’ former team, the Eagles, went another.

Matthews’ production slowed, and he was eventually placed on injured reserve to end the season. He finished the season with career lows in receiving yards (282) and touchdowns (one). Although Buffalo ended their playoff drought, Matthews couldn’t be part of it. He was watching and rooting for his new team on the sidelines, only to see them fail to score a touchdown and lose in Jacksonville. Meanwhile, his friends in the City of Brotherly Love were busy winning a Super Bowl.

When he was with the Eagles, Matthews was a leader on the team. He still keeps in touch the people he went to battle with for three seasons. Before Super Bowl LII, he spoke with former teammates Nelson Agholor, Alshon Jeffery, Torrey Smith and Carson Wentz via FaceTime.

“He was being Jordan, just a blessed human being who thought so much about us to give us all his words of encouragement,” said Agholor.

“This is for him also, even though he wasn’t here because at the end of the day, as a rookie, I was here with Jordan Matthews, and he had my back every single day. That’s my guy.”

Matthews’ future is still unclear. He becomes a free agent on March 14 and will enter a market that could be willing to pay him up big money. Some of his fellow receivers from the 2014 NFL Draft, such as Sammy Watkins, Jarvis Landry and Marqise Lee, could have big paydays and are setting the price high.

Although Matthews had a down season in 2017, he still can be one of the more reliable targets in the league. His catch rate of 69.4 percent in 2017 was a career high and something that might persuade the Bills to bring him back.

In just four seasons in the NFL, Matthews has seen how the NFL is a process and a grind. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott’s process is no different. It may have its own ebb and flow but at the end of the day, it’s how you persist and push through the uncertainty that makes you who you are.

Matthews is part of that process, and what comes next will be choosing how to write his next chapter.