Bills Announce Final Roster: Naaman Roosevelt, Shawn Nelson, Geoff Hangartner Among Cuts
By Brad Andrews
The Bills have announced their final cuts. Meet your 2011 Buffalo Bills. (At least to start the season.)
QB (3): Ryan Fitzpatrick, Tyler Thigpen, Brad Smith
RB (3): Fred Jackson, C.J. Spiller, Johnny White
FB (1): Corey McIntyre
WR (6): Stevie Johnson, Donald Jones, Roscoe Parrish, David Nelson, Marcus Easley, Ruvell Martin
TE (3): Scott Chandler, Zach Pianalto, David Martin
OT (3): Demetrius Bell, Erik Pears, Chris Hairston
G/C (5): Eric Wood, Andy Levitre, Chad Rinehart, Kraig Urbik, Colin Brown
DE (4): Marcell Dareus, Dwan Edwards, Spencer Johnson, Kellen Heard (Alex Carrington considered a LB)
NT (2): Kyle Williams, Torell Troup
OLB (5): Shawne Merriman, Chris Kelsay, Danny Batten, Alex Carrington, Robert Eddins
ILB (6): Nick Barnett, Kirk Morrison, Andra Davis, Arthur Moats, Kelvin Sheppard, Chris White
CB (5): Leodis McKelvin, Terrence McGee, Aaron Williams, Drayton Florence, Justin Rogers
S (4): Jairus Byrd, George Wilson, Bryan Scott, Da’Norris Searcy
Specialists (3): Rian Lindell (K), Brian Moorman (P), Garrison Sanborn (LS)
Cuts: QB Levi Brown, FB Jehuu Caulcrick, WR Craig Davis, WR Kamar Aiken, TE Shawn Nelson, TE Mike Caussin, OT Cordaro Howard, OT Jason Watkins, C Michael Switzer, G Mansfield Wrotto, G/C Geoff Hangartner, DE Lionel Dotson, DE T.J. Langley, NT Michael Jasper, OLB Antonio Coleman, ILB Brandon Hicks, CB Doyle Miller, CB Reggie Corner, S Joshua Nesbitt, S Sidney Glover, LS Danny Aiken
Waived/Injured: WR Felton Huggins, S Jon Corto, LB Jammie Kirlew, OT Ed Wang,
Placed on Injured Reserve: RB Bruce Hall
A few quick notes:
Biggest surprise: There’s a few, but the probably the only stunning one for me was the team electing to keep latecomer Ruvell Martin at WR over Naaman Roosevelt. You have to wonder if Roosevelt is hurt. Colin Brown making the team as a backup guard also comes as a big surprise.
Biggest disappointment: I don’t know why the team wanted to cut Geoff Hangartner so badly. Yeah, he was expensive for a backup, but isn’t the idea to win games? All three backup O-linemen on this team (Brown, rookie tackle Chris Hairston, and Chad Rinehart) scare me to some degree.
Good for you: Tough not to appreciate what undrafted rookies Robert Eddins and Zach Pianalto accomplished by making the roster. They had such a small window to make an impression on the coaches thanks to the lockout – Chan Gailey didn’t even know who Eddins was entering camp – that either making the team is pretty amazing.
Bills maybe not done: As other teams make their cuts, don’t be shocked if the Bills move to pick a player up off waivers. Especially a decent backup offensive lineman.