Buffalo Bills select their protected players on practice squad for Week 1

The Buffalo Bills have selected the four players that will be protected on their practice squad for Week 1.

This season, the NFL and NFLPA agreed to expand the practice squad to 16 players, as well as put a provision in that every team can protect four players on a weekly basis. This designation has to be done on Tuesday afternoon every week and the Buffalo Bills selected their players.

The first group of players, according to Albert Breer, that was protected was cornerbacks Cam Lewis and Dane Jackson, offensive lineman Evan Boehm and defensive tackle Justin Zimmer. These names aren’t too surprising as three of these players were either surprise cuts or right on the bubble to make the roster.

The fact that the Buffalo Bills protected Evan Boehm could be a sign they are planning on bringing him up to the active roster for this weekend’s game against the New York Jets. Sal Capaccio of WGR550 tweeted the new rules this year that allows teams to bring two players up from the practice squad each week and be on the active roster.

The rule states that after the week they can revert back to the practice squad without having to clear waivers. There is one caveat which is that the Buffalo Bills can only do this for a specific player twice a season.

In addition to Boehm, the fact that the Buffalo Bills protected two cornerbacks shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The Bills were dealing with some injuries towards the end of training camp at the position and had Levi Wallace and Josh Norman both miss time.

The good news was that both players were in full pads this week but it makes sense for the team to want to have some additional insurance if they aren’t fully ready to go on Sunday against the New York Jets.