We’ve finally made it to the end of the preseason, and with that comes tough decisions for the Buffalo Bills. The next game Buffalo plays will be a real game that means something in the standings. And it will be crucial as they face a Kyler Murray and Marvin Harrison Jr led Arizona Cardinals team. Buffalo must be at 53 players by next Tuesday’s 4:00 PM EST deadline, so let’s take one final look at what could be the Bills 53-man roster.
QB: Josh Allen, Mitch Trubisky (cut Anthony Brown, Ben Dinucci)
The Bills will keep three quarterbacks in the building, with one of their cuts landing on the practice squad. Trubisky’s injury likely isn’t enough to land him on IR, but having an emergency play-caller in the building doesn’t hurt.
RB: James Cook, Ty Johnson, Ray Davis, Frank Gore (cut Darrynton Evans)
The big change here is the undrafted rookie Frank Gore Jr making the roster. Not too many people had the Bills keeping four running backs going into this week, and I’m not sure the Bills did either. But Gore Jr turned a few heads against the Carolina Panthers, rushing for 101 yards and one touchdown.
FB: Reggie Gilliam
WR: Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel, Khalil Shakir, Mack Hollins, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Tyrell Shavers (cut KJ Hamler, Xavier Johnson Jr, Andy Isabella, Deon Cain, Damiere Byrd, Justin Shorter)
The Bills find a way to keep four running backs and six receivers while keeping their depth at other positions. Six receivers is a must right now with Samuel and Valdes-Scantling dealing with minor injuries.
TE: Dawson Knox, Dalton Kincaid, Zach Davidson (cut Tre McKitty, Quintin Morris)
Davidson played well for another week on both offense and special teams. In the last game, Davidson caught all four targets for 23 yards. Davidson and Morris were battling all summer for a roster spot, and this game feels like it sealed the deal for Davidson.
OT: Dion Dawkins, Spencer Brown, Tylan Grable, Ryan Van Demark (cut Richard Gouraige, Travis Clayton)
Grable is the first change we’ve had to the offensive line, and he showed he can play at a good level backing up Spencer Brown and Dion Dawkins. Collins kicks inside in this scenario, suring up the guard position.
OG: David Edwards, O’Cyrus Torrence, La’el Collins, Alec Anderson (cut Keaton Bills, Kevin Jarvis, Gunner Britton, Mike Edwards)
The Bills are going deeper on the line in this prediction, and that isn’t a horrible thing. If one player goes down, it’s better to be prepared than having a backup tackle start inside. Collins is the perfect veteran to have in a young Guard room.
OC: Connor McGovern, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (cut Will Clapp)
Nothing new to add here, I’d be surprised if they cut Van Pran-Granger.
DE: Von Miller, AJ Epenesa, Greg Rousseau, Dawuane Smoot, Javon Solomon (cut Kameron Cline, Kingsley Jonathan, Rondell Bothroyd, Casey Toohill)
This battle became closer this week than it has all summer. Cline and Jonathan both had solid games in Week 3 and gave Solomon a hard fight. Bills will rely on the rookie, knowing Solomon wouldn’t last on waivers.
DT: Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, Austin Johnson, Dewayne Carter (cut Gable Steveson, Branson Deen, Deshawn Williams, Eli Ankou)
The Bills take away from the interior defensive line to keep Frank Gore Jr around, and Deshawn Williams is the odd man out. Bills still have depth on the line, with Dawuane Smoot kicking inside if needed.
LB: Dorian Williams, Terrell Bernard, Edefuan Ulofoshio, Joe Andreessen, Nicholas Morrow (cut Deion Jones, Shayne Simon, Baylon Spector)
The linebacker position, despite the loss of Matt Milano, is tough to gauge. Spector has been in Buffalo for quite some time now and made a name for himself on special teams, and Deion Jones hoped to be the recipient of Matt Milano’s injury. However, neither of them make the roster here as they keep the rookie Joe Andreessen and veteran Nicholas Morrow. Andreessen will take Spector’s role on special teams while the Bills hope to get him back on the practice squad.
CB: Christian Benford, Rasul Douglas, Taron Johnson, Kaiir Elam, Daequan Hardy, Ja’Marcus Ingram (cut Cam Lewis, Keni-H Lovely, Te’Cory Couch, Kyron Brown)
Couch gave his all on the field in hopes of making the roster over one of Ingram or Hardy. However, Hardy is locked in as the punt returner and Ingram has had too good of a summer to risk losing him. Couch will spend some time on the practice squad and continue to develop for 2025.
Safety: Damar Hamlin, Taylor Rapp, Cole Bishop, Mike Edwards (cut Kareem Jackson, Terrell Burgess, Dee Delaney, Kendall Williamson)
From losing their All-Pro safety tandem in the off-season to losing rookie Cole Bishop and new addition Mike Edwards to injury, the safety position looked to be the weakest position on the Bills roster. Now, Buffalo has both coming back from their injuries and the position has become crowded. Buffalo will hope to get one or two back on the practice squad, with Cam Lewis likely being the priority.
Kicker: Tyler Bass
Bass was almost perfect in the preseason, only missing one field goal. Head coach Sean McDermott still has a ton of confidence in Bass.
Punter: Sam Martin
LS: Reid Ferguson
Practice squad
Travis Clayton, Keaton Bills, Kareem Jackson, Ben Dinucci, Xavier Johnson Jr, Justin Shorter, Quintin Morris, Rondell Bothroyd, Casey Toohill, Baylon Spector, Cam Lewis, Te’Cory Couch.
Note: the Bills will leave a few practice squad spots for free agents outside of the building.