Today is the day that the Buffalo Bills will have to cut their roster down to 75 players. By Saturday, at 4pm the Buffalo Bills 53 man roster will be finalized. Here’s who we think will make the final cut.
Quarterback (3)
This is no surprise. The Buffalo Bills will keep three quarterbacks. Tyrod Taylor, E.J. Manuel and Cardale Jones will all make the cut. The only question is if Cardale Jones can surpass E.J. Manuel on the depth chart by the end of the year.
Running Back (4)
The Bills had a crowded backfield this offseason and it was a big guessing game who would make the cut. That game stopped when the team cut Karlos Williams. At that point, it became obvious that they would be keeping LeSean McCoy, Reggie Bush, Mike Gillislee, and Jonathan Williams. James Wilder Jr. and Boom Herron will end up being cut.
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Tight End (3)
The Bills carried four tight ends most of last year so only carrying three this year seems a bit light. We think they would have kept four but tight end Chris Gragg tore his ACL and is out for the year. The current crop of players on waiver wire aren’t much so we project the Bills to only keep Charles Clay, Jim Dray and Blake Annen. The Bills will cut Nick O’Leary who they drafted in 2015.
Fullback (1)
It’s been an ongoing question throughout camp: Will the Bills continue to keep a fullback on the roster? Blocking tight end Jim Dray could perform most of what the Bills asked Jerome Felton to do last season, but Greg Roman likes having a fullback and so we think the Bills will keep Jerome Felton on the roster for another year. Glenn Gronkowski will not make the final cut.
Wide Receiver (6)
We think the Bills will keep six receivers to start the season. They have had a few injuries to players at the position and it only makes sense. The players who we think will make the roster are Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, Marquise Goodwin, Greg Salas, Greg Little and Walt Powell. Kolby Listenbee and Marcus Easley will receive injury designations and won’t be cut. Listenbee isn’t likely to crack the roster when he returns but Easley should slot in for his special team’s contributions and Greg Little or Walt Powell will be released. Dez Lewis is the notable cut at this position.
Offensive Line (8)
We think Bills will go light on the offensive line and only keep eight. Those players are Cordy Glenn, Richie Incognito, Eric Wood, John Miller, Jordan Mills, Seantrel Henderson, Cyrus Kouandjio and Ryan Groy. The Bills don’t seem happy with Fernando Velasco and so we are projecting him to be cut. If the Bills are worried that Groy cannot be a backup center, they may keep Velasco.
That takes care of the offense. You can see who we project for the Bills to keep on defense on the next slide.
Next: Buffalo Bills 53 Man Roster: Who's on the Defense?
Defensive Tackle (4)
The Bills are pretty set here at defensive tackle to start the year. We think that Kyle Williams, Adolphus Washington, Corbin Bryant and Jerel Worthy will all make the final 53 man roster. Once Marcell Dareus returns from suspension, the Bills may still carry the other four and elect to cut someone from the outside linebacker/edge rusher bucket.
Outside Linebacker/Edge Rusher (5)
The Bills’ depth chart was thrown for a loop here with injuries to Shaq Lawson and IK Enemkpali. Lawson will return mid-year but won’t eat up a roster spot until then. We think the Bills will start off the season carrying Jerry Hughes, Manny Lawson, Lorenzo Alexander, Bryson Albright and Leger Douzable. Douzable or Albright could be dropped Week 5 when Marcell Dareus returns. Kroy Biermann is the notable cut here.
Inside Linebacker (4)
The Bills suffered a huge blow when they lost second round pick Reggie Ragland for the year. They went out and signed two players shortly after to replace him but only one will make the roster in our opinion. We think the Bills will start off with Preston Brown, Zach Brown, Brandon Spikes and Randell Johnson. David Hawthorne will fall just short of making the roster.
Cornerback (6)
You can never have enough cornerbacks these days in the NFL and Rex Ryan particularly loves them. He should love the Bills’ group because they are ultra talented. We think the Bills will end up keeping Stephon Gilmore, Ronald Darby, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Kevon Seymour, Corey White and Sterling Moore.
Safety (5)
In our opinion, Aaron Williams and Corey Graham are the obvious starters. Duke Williams and Robert Blanton have done enough to justify their roster spots as well and will be the primary backups. Colt Anderson will make the roster due to his considerable contributions on special teams. That leaves Jonathan Meeks as the odd man out and the most notable cut at the position.
Kicker (2)
We think the Bills will continue to buck the trend in the NFL and use two precious roster spots to keep both Dan Carpenter and kickoff specialist Jordan Gay. It’s a decision that drives some Bills fans mad (including myself) but to start the year it seems like they are leaning towards two players again.
Punter (1)
Colton Schmidt is one of the few players on the roster who never really had to fight for a role. He has done well in his two seasons with the Bills, finishing with a net punt average last year of 41.3 yards which was the highest in team history.
Long Snapper (1)
Garrison Sanborn will win this role again in our opinion. The team brought in Reid Ferguson just to make it a competition but it was Sanborn’s role to lose and he did nothing to dissuade the team from making him the guy to stick around.
Next: Buffalo Bills Training Camp Awards
That’s our best guess at the Buffalo Bills 53 man roster which will be finalized by Saturday at 4pm. Let us know your thoughts on who will make the final cut in the comments section below.