Buffalo Bills: 3 players who surprisingly made the 53-man roster

Del’Shawn Phillips

One of the biggest surprises was the addition of Del’Shawn Phillips to the Buffalo Bills 53-man roster. Phillips initially signed as an undrafted free agent with the Atlanta Falcons last offseason but was cut prior to the season.

He eventually joined the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad last year in October and remained with the team the remainder of the season. They re-signed him this offseason on a reserves/futures contract.

There was undoubtedly a training camp battle for the backup linebacker positions and Phillips was competing with Vosean Joseph, Corey Thompson, Tyrel Dodson, and the recent addition of Andre Smith. However, on Friday the Buffalo Bills started to provide some clarity to the battle by releasing Vosean Joseph and Corey Thompson.

The expectation was that Andre Smith would win that final spot because the Bills did trade a draft pick for him and for his special teams’ experience.

The fact that Phillips remained on the roster over players like Thompson and Smith means that he is likely expected to have a significant role on special teams as those were two players that have played their extensively.