The Buffalo Bills had their first preseason game of the year on Saturday and on Sunday have begun the process of trimming the roster. The league has a deadline of Tuesday at 4 PM for every NFL team to get their roster down to 85 players.
The Bills on Sunday got closer to that number by releasing four players and that group included offensive lineman Derek Kerstetter, offensive lineman Jordan Simmons, cornerback Olaijah Griffin, and tight end Jalen Wydermyer.
The player with the longest tenure was cornerback Olaijah Griffin, who was signed as an undrafted free agent last offseason after he was not selected in the 2021 NFL Draft. He would spend the entire preseason with the Bills but be released prior to the regular season.
Griffin would return as a member of the practice squad and be signed after the season with the hope that he could make the roster this year. That didn’t play out the way he hoped and he is now free to sign with another team.
Buffalo Bills releasing Jalen Wydermyer is a bit of a surprise
The other notable player in this group was tight end Jalen Wydermyer, who seemed to be a priority target for the Buffalo Bills this offseason after he went undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft. While it is tough for undrafted free agents to make the active roster as a rookie, the former Texas A&M was considered one of the players with the best chance among the Bills’ signings.
The reason the Bills are releasing Wydermyer probably has a lot to do with numbers and the team knowing they won’t have any room for him. The Bills already have Dawson Knox, O.J. Howard and Tommy Sweeney all should be on the 53-man roster but Sweeney may be the odd man out if the team only keeps two players.
In addition, the Bills saw Quintin Morris make a great catch late in the game against the Indianapolis Colts and they may want to give him some more snaps as the preseason goes along.
4 Buffalo Bills on the roster bubble with big performances against the Colts
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