The Buffalo Bills announced they have released five players before the 4 PM deadline on Tuesday.
The second round of roster cuts has been announced for the Buffalo Bills as they had to release five players to get down to 81 players. Most teams have to get to 80 players but the Bills have a roster exemption for running back Christian Wade and that is why they are able to have a roster of 81 players.
The five players in this round of cuts included linebacker Tyrell Adams, offensive lineman Tyler Gauthier, tight end Bug Howard, wide receiver Lance Lenior, and safety Tariq Thompson.
Tyrell Adams is a surprise cut for the Buffalo Bills
Of the five players released linebacker Tyrell Adams may be the most surprising. The Bills signed Adams as a free agent during the offseason and he was expected to compete for a backup spot behind Tremaine Edmunds at middle linebacker.
At the time, the addition of Adams seemed like a great value move as he was coming off an excellent season with the Houston Texans. He had primarily been a backup during his NFL career but with Benardrick McKinney suffering a season-ending injury, Adams got a chance to be a full-time starter.
He responded with some impressive stats, including 125 total tackles which was the 12th highest total in the NFL. However, Adams struggled to move up the depth chart with the Buffalo Bills this summer and looked to be behind Tyrel Dodson as well as the emerging Andre Smith.
Another potential surprise was the release of Tariq Thompson. He joined the Bills as an undrafted free agent this offseason and with the questions at backup safety seemed to have an outside chance of making the 53-man roster early in training camp.
However, Damar Hamlin and Josh Thomas have played very well in preseason and these two, along with Jaquan Johnson, are in a tough position battle for the final two roster spots.
The next round of roster cuts will be next Tuesday, August 31st, when the Buffalo Bills will need to cut the roster down to 53 players.