The Buffalo Bills have one last chance to evaluate the depth options on their roster when the team goes on the road Saturday to take on the Chicago Bears.
While much of the roster is set, Buffalo still has a few ongoing competitions at middle linebacker, cornerback and right guard and there are some depth roles to shake out at offensive tackle, wide receiver and more. Needless to say, Brandon Beane, Sean McDermott and company have some difficult decisions to make.
{p class=”krtText”}In our latest 53-man roster projection, the Bills get creative to solve their offensive tackle depth problem, go heavy at wide receiver and cut a former team captain. Heading into the final week of the preseason, here’s my latest projection of the Bills’ 2023 roster.
Quarterback (2): Josh Allen, Kyle Allen
Cut: Matt Barkley
Matt Barkley made things interesting in the race for the No. 2 QB this summer, but his three interception, one lost fumble performance against the Steelers was a good reminder of his limitations. Buffalo rolls into the season with Josh Allen and Kyle Allen as their quarterbacks.
Running back/fullback (4): James Cook, Damien Harris, Latavius Murray, Reggie Gilliam
Cut: Jordan Mims, Ty Johnson, Darrynton Evans
Before Nyheim Hines’ jet ski incident, this was one of the toughest positions to figure out. That is no longer the case. James Cook takes over as Buffalo’s No. 1 back with two veterans, Damien Harris and Latavius Murray, getting mixed in as well. Harris has been out with knee soreness as of late, but he looked good at training camp. Murray, despite being one of the league’s oldest backs, runs with plenty of power and some speed that you wouldn’t expect. Gilliam has no competition at fullback and remains one of the team’s top special teams players.
Buffalo could put one or two of the cut backs on their practice squad. Mims is coming off of a good summer and is worth further development.
Wide receiver (7): Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, Trent Sherfield, Deonte Harty, Khalil Shakir, Justin Shorter, Andy Isabella
Cut: Tyrell Shavers, Marcell Ateman, Isaiah Coulter, KeeSean Johnson, Dezmon Patmon, Bryan Thompson
Buffalo could end up keeping six receivers, but they find a way to keep seven in our latest projection. The top five seems set, but what they do beyond that is where things get interesting.
Why would the Bills keep seven receivers? Shorter, a day three pick in this year’s draft, had a strong performance in the team’s second preseason game and finished training camp strong. He’s viewed as being a four-phase special teamer and has the size to contribute in the red zone while developing his overall game.
As for Isabella, the team seemed to be trying to find a way to get him onto their roster. He’s been explosive with the ball in his hands on offense, can handle return responsibilities and performed well against Pittsburgh when used as a gunner. Another reason to keep Isabella on the 53-man roster? His skill-set is very similar to that of Deonte Harty. If Harty misses any time with an injury this year, Isabella could be slotted into his role.
Tight end (3): Dawson Knox, Dalton Kincaid, Quintin Morris
Cut: Jace Sternberger, Joel Wilson
No real surprises here. Morris was given some competition during camp with the addition of Sternberger, but he pulled away from the former third round pick.
Offensive line (9): Dion Dawkins, Connor McGovern, Mitch Morse, O’Cyrus Torrence, Spencer Brown, Ryan Bates, David Quessenberry, David Edwards, Josh Jones
Trade: Bills acquire Josh Jones from Arizona Cardinals for Boogie Basham
Cuts: Ryan Van Demark, Richard Gouraige, Alec Anderson, Garrett McGhin, Greg Mantz, Kevin Jarvis, Nick Broeker, Ike Boettger
The Bills need some depth at tackle after losing Brandon Shell to retirement and Tommy Doyle to an injury. Insert Josh Jones. Arizona, despite being projected to be one of the worst teams in the league this year, has impressive tackle depth. Buffalo acquires the former 2020 third round pick and sends Boogie Basham back to the Cardinals. Buffalo adds a strong depth piece on an expiring contract while the Cardinals get Basham under contract for 2023 and 2024 on an inexpensive contract. Jones joins Dion Dawkins, Spencer Brown and David Quessenberry at tackle. If Buffalo cannot pull off a trade for a tackle, Ryan Van Demark gets inserted into the final tackle spot.
Along the interior, there are few surprises. Connor McGovern, Mitch Morse and O’Cyrus Torrence make up the team’s starters with Ryan Bates being the first player off the bench and David Edwards being the next man up behind him.
Among the cuts, Van Demark, Gouraige, Anderson, Broeker and Boettger are all possibilities for the practice squad.
Defensive line (9): Leonard Floyd, DaQuan Jones, Ed Oliver, Greg Rousseau, Jordan Phillips, Tim Settle, Poona Ford, AJ Epenesa, Shaq Lawson
Reserve/PUP: Von Miller
Cut: Kingsley Jonathan, Kameron Cline, Eli Ankou, Cortez Broughton, DJ Dale, Kendal Vickers
With Basham out of the equation, this gets a little easier on the defensive line. Von Miller starts the year on the reserve/PUP missing at least four games. Buffalo carries four defensive ends to start the season with Leonard Floyd and Greg Rousseaustarting and AJ Epenesa and Shaq Lawson providing depth. Lawson could be the odd man out when Von Miller returns.
At defensive tackle, Buffalo goes five deep with DaQuan Jones, Ed Oliver, Jordan Phillips, Tim Settle and Poona Ford. This rotation, on paper, is the best defensive tackle room that McDermott has worked with in Buffalo.
Kingsley Jonathan did not have a strong enough summer to move up the depth chart, but he flashed in the team’s second preseason game. He’s a likely practice squad candidate along with one or two of the defensive tackles above.
Linebacker (6): Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard, Tyrel Dodson, Dorian Williams, Baylon Spector, A.J. Klein
Cut: Tyler Matakevich, Travin Howard, DaShaun White
Tyler Matakevich has been a core special teams linebacker since joining the Bills. He seems to be a favorite of Sean McDermott, but Matakevich missed a good chunk of the summer with a calf injury. With Matakevich getting older, Buffalo moves on from the veteran. Matakevich’s $2.5 million salary is fully guaranteed, but the team moved on from a bigger dead cap hit last year (O.J. Howard) so I’m not ruling it out.
Travin Howard had a big hit in the team’s preseason opener, but he didn’t do enough this summer to move up the depth chart. DaShaun White, a recent addition, will get evaluated by the team in the preseason finale, but was likely added to ensure that they had enough players at the position for their final preseason matchup against the Bears.
Buffalo could look to add a middle linebacker after roster cuts across the league are made.
Cornerback (6): Tre’Davious White, Dane Jackson, Taron Johnson, Christian Benford, Kaiir Elam, Siran Neal
Cuts: Alex Austin, Kyron Brown, Ja’Marcus Ingram, Cam Lewis
There were some tough cuts at cornerback, but the top five seems pretty well established. Neal gets the edge for the final spot thanks to his special teams ability and versatility on defense.
Cam Lewis is well liked in the building for his versatility and Ja’Marcus Ingram has flashed his ability at times as well. In this roster cut, neither make the Bills’ final roster, but both land on the practice squad. Joining them is Alex Austin, the team’s 2023 7th round pick.
Safety (4): Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, Taylor Rapp, Damar Hamlin
Cuts: Dean Marlowe, Zayne Anderson, Jared Mayden
Buffalo’s top three safeties were locked in all summer. There were questions about whether or not Damar Hamlin would have any hurdles this summer in his return, but he’s answered every question and checked every box. Hamlin’s strong summer puts him as the clear cut No. 4 safety.
Dean Marlowe would be an ideal veteran on the practice squad.
Special teams (3): Tyler Bass, Sam Martin, Reid Ferguson
Cuts: None
There was no competition for the Bills’ special teams unit this summer.
