Where does Tommy Sweeney fit on the Buffalo Bills in 2020?
By Daniel Bruce
2020 Outlook
In what will be an interesting camp battle for the third spot on the tight end depth chart, with Dawson Knox and Tyler Kroft looking to be roster locks, Sweeney has a shot at settling in at the third spot.
The sophomore tight end will have to beat out respected veteran Lee Smith for the blocking tight end spot. This is no easy feat as Smith has a ton of respect through the whole Bills organization and a young player kicking him out of a roster spot would be rare under Sean McDermott.
Nevertheless, Sweeney showed enough last season to warrant a significant look from the Bills, the team could free up $1,750,000 in cap space by cutting ties with Smith, so there might be a small incentive there if the young tight end looks ready.
I think bringing Sweeney on the active roster over Smith has merit, but it depends on how much value McDermott holds in Smith as a leader, because he ran into too much penalty trouble last season and wasn’t spectacular.
If the former seventh-round tight end doesn’t make the top three tight ends he could still make the 53 man roster if Buffalo takes four tight ends on the roster. Most likely on game days though Sweeney would be consistently on the inactive list like most of last season. If he is not carried to the active 53 man roster, he could find himself settling down on the practice squad.