Buffalo Bills 53-man roster prediction 3.0

Week one of the preseason has come and gone, and with that comes another edition of the Buffalo Bills 53-man roster prediction. It wasn't a pretty game for the Bills as they faced the Chicago Bears, but we did get a good look at the team's new additions for the first time in game action. So let's take a look at where the roster shapes up this week.

QB: Josh Allen, Mitch Trubisky (cut Shane Buechele) 

The Bills likely won’t add any competition for Trubisky, whether or not you believe they should. 

RB: James Cook, Ray Davis, Ty Johnson (cut Darrynton Evans, Frank Gore Jr) 

Both Evans and Gore Jr likely sign back to the practice squad. Unless he signs with another team, Evans becomes this year's Andy Isabella and gets a couple of callups when they need a returner. 

FB: Reggie Gilliam 

Love him or hate him, Gilliam's special teams is top tier. With a lot of turnover on special teams, keeping a player like Gilliam is a must.

WR: Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel, Khalil Shakir, Mack Hollins, Tyrell Shavers (cut Chase Claypool, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Lawrence Keys Jr, Bryan Thompson, Justin Shorter, KJ Hamler, Andy Isabella, Xavier Johnson) 

Valdes-Scantling hasn’t shown anything to write his name in sharpie in any roster prediction. His drops in training camp have become a problem in game too, and the summer that Tyrell Shavers is having leads me to believe they’ll keep him over the former Kansas City Chiefs receiver. 

TE: Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox, Quintin Morris (cut Zach Davidson, Tre McKitty)

Davidson has had a big summer, but it’s likely not good enough to keep him over Quintin Morris. He likely returns to the practice squad in the event Buffalo has another injury to the tight end position. 

OT: Dion Dawkins, Spencer Brown, La’el Collins, Ryan Van Demark (cut Travis Clayton, Tylan Grable, Richard Gouraige) 

Clayton, a part of the international player pathway program, doesn’t have a spot on this roster after August. He’ll need a year or two on the practice squad to continue his development before we see any improvement from him.

OG: David Edwards, O’Cyrus Torrence, Alec Anderson (cut Kevin Jarvis, Keaton Bills, Mike Edwards, Gunner Britton) 

The Bills only keep three guards, and a lot of that has to do with the depth past Anderson. There isn’t enough talent to justify keeping four guards, and the versatility on this offensive line allows them to save money and a roster spot for another area of need. 

OC: Connor McGovern, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (cut Will Clapp)

Clapp is likely the interior offensive lineman that lands on the practice squad, as he has experience at guard and center through his career. The rookie Van Pran-Granger has been working with the guards as well. They have depth, it just takes some reshaping in the event that a starter goes down.

DE: Von Miller, AJ Epenesa, Greg Rousseau, Dawuane Smoot, Javon Solomon (cut Kingsley Jonathan, Kameron Cline, Casey Toohill, Rondell Bothroyd) 

Sean McDermott has a history of rotating his pass rushers like nobody’s ever seen. That likely doesn’t change this year, either. With new additions Dawuane Smoot and rookie Javon Solomon making the roster, they’ll have some impact on how the rotation shapes out. 

DT: Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, DeWayne Carter, Austin Johnson, Deshawn Williams (cut Eli Ankou, Branson Deen, Gable Steveson) 

The rotation is the same here, too. With Smoot having experience at tackle and off the edge, they can use a variety of rotations. Ankou and Steveson likely stick around on the practice squad, with Ankou having experience in Buffalo and Steveson becoming a favorite of McDermott’s. 

LB: Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard, Dorian Williams, Edefuan Ulofoshio, Nicholas Morrow, Baylon Spector (cut Deion Jones, Shayne Simon, Joe Andreessen) 

Babich, the former linebacker coach, will have a say in how many linebackers Buffalo keeps. With Milano still not 10% from his injury yet, and Tyler Matakevich leaving for Pittsburgh, Buffalo likely keeps six linebacker’s on the initial roster. That may change with injuries, but for now, Spector takes Matakevich’s role. 

CB: Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford, Taron Johnson, Kaiir Elam, Ja’Marcus Ingram, DaeQuan Hardy (cut Daequan Hardy, Keni-H Lovely, Te’Cory Couch, Kyron Brown) 

The Cornerback position has been a very intriguing group to watch. They likely will go heavier at the position, given the turnover and the youth of the position. Daequan Hardy has shown to be the best returner, forcing the Bills to keep six corners, plus Cam Lewis can come in and play nickel if he has to. 

Safety: Damar Hamlin, Taylor Rapp, Cole Bishop, Cam Lewis (cut Dee Delaney, Kareem Jackson, Terrell Burgess, Kendall Williamson) 

Much like corner, the safety position is a toss up. Damar Hamlin’s name can now be written in sharpie, and Mike Edward’s hamstring injury could force him to injured reserve. Buffalo signed Kareem Jackson, who has plenty of starting experience, however he likely got here too late to make the team. These are the four Buffalo will keep, with some shakeup in the secondary once Edwards returns to full health. 

Kicker: Tyler Bass

Bass, despite inconsistencies, will be the kicker this year with the hope he can overcome his woes. 

Punter: Sam Martin

Martin will be the punter, even if he shouldn’t be. Buffalo cut Jack Browning in favor of Martin, who had a 35 yard punt in Saturday’s game. Now, they may be stuck with Martin for 2024. 

LS: Reid Ferguson

IR: Mike Edwards

Edwards came to Buffalo with a bad shoulder and practiced through the injury. Despite that, he suffered a hamstring injury early on in training camp. The Bills likely stash him on injured reserve to allow him to rehab both of his injuries.