This has been a busy week for the Buffalo Bills as the preseason comes to an end and the focus turns to the regular season. A big step along the way is cutting the roster down to 53-players and build the practice squad, which they did on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Even though the roster is essentially set now, this shouldn’t stop general manager Brandon Beane from continuing to look for players that could improve this roster. While the Bills are unlikely to find starters at this point of the year, there are a few veterans who could provide good depth.
These are three veteran free agents the Buffalo Bills should look to add after the roster cuts and the players they would replace on the 53-man roster.
Austin Reiter
Release: Ryan Bates
It is certainly surprising that the former starting center of the Kansas City Chiefs hasn’t found a new home yet this year. He was the player who replaced Mitch Morse when he left as a free agent to join the Bills. In the past two seasons, Reiter has started 28 games at center and this past season he didn’t allow a single sack, according to Pro Football Focus.
The reason this move makes sense for the Buffalo Bills is that while Mitch Morse is the starter, he does have an injury history. It is important to have a player with experience to step in if the need were ever to arise.
Right now, the most likely replacement to step in at center would be Jon Feliciano. However, this may not be ideal because then the coaching staff would need to find a player to replace Feliciano as a starting guard. They would essentially be having two new starters to replace one player.
The likely candidate to be released if the Bills were to sign Austin Reiter would be Ryan Bates. He has been with the team for a few seasons and does have some versatility at center as well as at offensive tackle but with some of the additions of Spencer Brown and Tommy Doyle, the need isn’t as great at offensive tackle.