The Buffalo Bills released 34 players on cut day, making some surprising moves and some not so surprising. A Bills quarterback was also on the move.
Saturday was cut day in the NFL and Buffalo Bills fans were probably glued to their mobile devices to see who was cut and who wasn’t. It sure was an interesting day around the league, with big trades and surprising cuts.
The biggest speculation of the day was what the team would do with their quarterbacks. There was a feeling that one of them was not going to be on the final roster at the end of the day. Either a trade or just cut the player.
Then a mid-afternoon call came from the Oakland Raiders about quarterback AJ McCarron and a deal was made to send McCarron to Oakland for a 2019 fifth-round pick in return. That leaves the team with two quarterbacks, rookie Josh Allen and Nathan Peterman.
Thirty-four players were released and some of the notable cuts were tight end Nick O’Leary and wide receivers Corey Coleman and Brandon Reilly.
I don’t think it was surprising to hear about O’Leary. He didn’t show much in training camp and had good moments here and there in the preseason. O’Leary was drafted by the Bills in 2015.
Coleman just joined the Bills a few weeks ago via trade with the Cleveland Browns. I thought he had somewhat of a chance of making the roster, but I guess not. He didn’t seem to impress the coaches, like he failed to do in Cleveland. Enough to not get a roster spot.
And lastly, wide receiver Brandon Reilly was let go. The practice squad turned active roster player, Reilly had a decent training camp and preseason. I feel he deserved a spot.
Some other notable cuts were cornerback Dean Marlowe and defensive end Ryan Russell.
Punter Jon Ryan was also released today after signing last week. He saw limited play in the preseason and kind of a waste of a signing. Colton Schmidt won the job.
Now some of these players will be eligible for a spot on the practice squad once they clear waivers. The team can have up to 10 players on the squad, but four have to have two seasons under their belt in the NFL.
Over 1,500 players lost their jobs and that opens up a lot of new names to free agency. Look for most teams, including the Bills, to be active looking for players that fit.