Quick quiz, how many new starters will Buffalo have come Sunday when it hosts the Jets at Bills’ Stadium in the regular-season opener?
Not as many as you might think?
Barring a surprise in the next four days, that number will likely be three.
Oh, there’s an asterisk or two, but for starters new to the roster, that’s the number.
The most obvious, and important, is Stefon Diggs, now the Bills’ No. 1 wide receiver who arrived via a trade with the Vikings at a cost of first-, fifth- and sixth-round draft choices this past spring and a fourth-rounder in 2021.
Clearly, it was an expensive deal but one general manager Brandon Beane felt he had to make in order for Buffalo to have an elite receiving corps which, with John Brown and Cole Beasley, it now possesses.
Maximizing that crew, though, falls squarely to third-year quarterback Josh Allen.
The second new starter could be equally important … if not more.
Rookie sixth-round draft choice Tyler Bass beat out veteran place-kicker Stephen Hauschka, on the strength (excuse the pun) of his kickoffs. However, there’s always the concern about a rookie kicker’s accuracy before being tested in the crucible of a real NFL game. And that reality was confirmed when the Bills tried out three kickers on Sunday … just in case.
The third new starter is free-agent linebacker A.J. Klein who inherits the position vacated by the retired Lorenzo Alexander.
Buffalo lost two defensive tackles, Jordan Phillips, who went to the Cardinals as a free agent, and Star Lotuleilei who opted out due to Covid-19. However, Harrison Phillips (third round 2018) and Ed Oliver (first round ‘19) return and are backed by free agents Vernon Butler and Quinton Jefferson. But given how frequently the Bills rotate defensive linemen, those two wouldn’t be considered starting changes..
With right guard Jon Feliciano on injured reserve, due to a torn pectoral muscle for at least three weeks, Cody Ford, last year’s second-round draft pick figures to move in a spot from right tackle leaving veteran Ty Nsekhe to reclaim that job.
And, there was a thought Josh Norman, a free-agent from Washington, might unseat incumbent Levi Wallace at right cornerback until missed time in training camp due to a hamstring issue, thwarted that bid.
THOUGH three new starters seem minimal, Buffalo’s turnover on its 53-man regular-season roster is more in line with the NFL norm, as there are 17 new faces (36 percent), though one is running back Taiwan Jones, back after a season with Houston.
The other 16 included six Bills’ draft choices — defensive end A.J. Epenesa (2nd round), running back Zack Moss (3rd), wide receiver Gabriel Davis (4th), quarterback Jake Fromm (5th), wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins (6th) and Bass.
There are also Diggs plus free agents Jones, Norman, Butler and Jefferson, linebackers Klein and Tyler Matakevich, guards Brian Winters and Daryl Williams, tight end/fullback Reggie Gilliam and defensive end Mario Addison.
The Bills also made two moves Sunday to reclaim a pair of players with both Feliciano and Hodgins being placed on in-season injured reserve to bring back wide receiver/kick return specialist Andre Roberts and safety Dean Marlowe.
Then, too, familiar faces dot the 17 -man practice squad (the Bills get one free spot for running back Christian Wade as an international player).
There are eight holdovers: tight ends Jason Croom and Nate Becker, wide receiver Duke Williams, cornerback Cam Lewis, defensive end Mike Love, offensive tackle Victor Salako, quarterback Davis Webb plus Wade.
The Bills also re-signed trade acquisition Andre Smith, a linebacker, and seventh-round draftee Dane Jackson, a corner.
Finally, the practice squad includes seven new free agents: center Evan Boehm, guard Brandon Walton, offensive tackle Trey Adams, defensive end Bryan Cox Jr., safety Josh Thomas, running back Antonio Williams and defensive tackle Justin Zimmer.
For the record, Buffalo, on its 53-man roster, has three each quarterbacks and kicking specialists (including long-snapper), four each running backs, tight ends, defensive tackles and safeties, five defensive ends, six each wide receivers, linebackers and cornerbacks and eight offensive linemen.
And, oh yeah, as happens pretty much every season, one rookie free agent made the team.
Toledo’s Gilliam survived after being switched to tight end mostly because of his special teams prowess. And with veteran Buffalo fullback Pat DiMarco going on season-ending injured reserve with a neck problem (before the final cutdown), Gilliam could also fill that role.
(Chuck Pollock, a Times Herald senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)
