Bubble Watch: Plenty still at stake for Bills in preseason finale
The team must cut its roster down to 53 players by 4 p.m. Tuesday. The final preseason game Saturday night serves as the last chance to impress for those on the roster bubble.
Decision day looms for the Buffalo Bills.
The team must cut its roster down to 53 players by 4 p.m. Tuesday. The final preseason game Saturday night serves as the last chance to impress for those on the roster bubble.
“Continued evaluation, making sure we have the evaluation right, wanting to see certain players that are in competition with one another,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said of the approach heading into the final week of the preseason.
While the third preseason game is usually thought of as meaningless, that is certainly not true for the depth players on the Bills’ roster. Because of numerous injuries throughout training camp, the Bills have had to adjust. That has meant playing certain players in different roles than they are accustomed to and giving them more time and reps. The result is a depth chart that is not finalized behind the team’s starters.
The last chance to impress for those players comes against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here are the positions with jobs seemingly up for grabs, and how The Buffalo News sees those competitions:
Quarterback
Lock (1): Josh Allen.In the running (2): Mike White, Mitchell Trubisky.
Long shot (1): Shane Buechele.
The competition between Trubisky and White continued through Saturday’s game. While the on-field results have not been overwhelmingly positive for either quarterback through the first two preseason games, offensive coordinator Joe Brady said that is less of a factor for him when deciding who ultimately will win the job.
"The practices, especially for the quarterback position, putting a lot of stress on them, is more important for me,” Brady said. “Seeing how they kind of handle that with the stress of it all, knowing how vanilla the game plans are in the preseason.”
The hope during the regular season, of course, is that none of the three quarterbacks behind Allen will have to take a meaningful snap.
Bills receiver Elijah Moore looked to cement a spot on the team's 53-man roster during Saturday night's preseason finale against Tampa Bay.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Wide receiver
Locks (3): Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir, Joshua Palmer.In the running (6): Elijah Moore, Curtis Samuel, Laviska Shenault Jr., Tyrell Shavers, Kristian Wilkerson, K.J. Hamler.
Long shots (3): Stephen Gosnell, Grant DuBose, Deon Cain.
The Bills will need to free up some cap space once the 53-man roster is set, and one way to do that would be to find a team willing to take Samuel in a trade. The move would save the team $7.34 million, according to sports business website spotrac.com. Samuel has missed a huge chunk of the summer with a hamstring injury.
“Him being here and me being around him, I have a better feel for what he can do and how he can fit into the offense, which makes it a little easier,” Brady said.
If the Bills were to find a trade partner, that would seem to clear a path for Moore to make the team as the No. 4 receiver. Moore is the top backup to Shakir in the slot. While he’s had some uneven moments in the preseason, including a pair of drops against Chicago, he’s had a good deal of time with the starters, including Allen. After that, the question becomes do the Bills keep five or six players at the position? Special teams will factor into the answer. Shavers again has made a strong push this summer. How much the Bills trust him to be a “core four” special teams player might answer the question of whether he’ll crack the roster. Shenault, meanwhile, has had some nice moments and has been used as the primary kick returner. If the Bills think he can return punts and kicks, it could be enough to convince them to keep six receivers. DuBose suffered an injury to his collarbone in practice that will require surgery.
Bills offensive lineman Chase Lundt, middle, has played multiple positions during preseason games.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Offensive line
Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStackLocks (8): Dion Dawkins, David Edwards, Connor McGovern, O’Cyrus Torrence, Spencer Brown, Alec Anderson, Tylan Grable, Chase Lundt.
Likely to start on injured reserve/PUP (1): Sedrick Van Pran-Granger.
In the running (4): Kendrick Green, Mike Edwards, Ryan Van Demark, Richard Gouraige.
Long shots (4): Rush Reimer, Dan Feeney, Jacob Bayer, Travis Clayton.
The calf injury to Van Pran-Granger has caused him to miss the entire preseason and has really thrown into question the team’s depth chart. There is not a true backup center to McGovern, although Anderson has been working there recently. It remains to be seen whether the coaching staff would trust him with that job at this point. Lundt has worked multiple positions in the preseason games. That has naturally produced some tough moments, but the team sees potential in him, or else it wouldn’t be putting him in those spots to see how he handles the adversity.
“We’ve tried to move a lot of guys around to put them in stressful positions based on the defense that we’re going against,” Brady said. “We’ve been fortunate that, unlike last year, we were trying to get the continuity together. Because we’ve had that, it’s allowed us to put guys in difficult positions to see how they handle it and I feel confident in our guys. There’s still a lot of competition out there and this game will be very important for us.”
Indeed, it feels like there is at least one job up for grabs in the game against Tampa Bay for someone from the group of Green, Edwards, Gouraige and Van Demark to grab.
Linebacker
Locks (4): Terrel Bernard, Matt Milano, Dorian Williams, Joe Andreessen.In the running (4): Keonta Jenkins, Jimmy Ciarlo, Shaq Thompson, Edefuan Ulofoshio.
Jenkins was making a push for a roster spot as an undrafted rookie free agent after a strong game against the Giants, but an ankle injury currently has him in a walking boot. Thompson missed a chunk of time during training camp with a hamstring injury, but he is working his way back and has a long history with McDermott. He should be considered the favorite for the fifth job. It feels like the Bills might only keep that many on the roster due to needs at other positions caused by injuries. Ulofoshio, a 2024 draft pick, has not stood out. Don’t totally discount Ciarlo’s chances, especially if the team believes he can contribute on special teams.
Cornerback
Locks (4): Christian Benford, Tre’Davious White, Taron Johnson, Dorian Strong.Likely to start the season on injured reserve/PUP (1): Maxwell Hairston.
In the running (5): Ja’Marcus Ingram, Dane Jackson, Zy Alexander, Daequan Hardy, Brandon Codrington.
Long shot (1): Tre Herndon.
The injury suffered by White in practice Thursday completely opens up this competition, especially with the possibility of Hairston – the team’s first-round draft pick – missing the first four weeks of the season because of a knee injury. Hairston is off crutches, but has yet to be spotted doing any conditioning. If he starts the year on injured reserve and if White misses significant time, it likely means keeping both Ingram and Jackson on the 53-man roster. If White’s injury turns out not to be serious, there might only be room for one of them. The backup nickel cornerback job behind Johnson could be open, although Cam Lewis, who is considered a safety and thus not listed here, has handled that role in the past. Hardy and Codrington also factor into the decision based on special teams with their ability to return kicks and punts.
Defensive tackle
Locks (4): Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, T.J. Sanders, Deone Walker.Suspended (1): Larry Ogunjobi.
In the running (2): DeWayne Carter, Zion Logue.
Long shots (2): Casey Rogers, Marcus Harris.
Ogunjobi’s pending six-game suspension makes it likely that the team simply delays its decision on what to do here for that long, but at some point, there will be a tough call to make. Carter played deep into the game against Chicago. He’s the favorite to be kept as the fifth defensive tackle at the moment, especially considering he was a third-round draft pick in 2024. However, Logue might be the best option for the Bills as a run-stuffer. It’s possible they could sneak him onto the practice squad and use him as a call-up, but there is a little bit of risk in that plan. Cutting Ogunjobi would be an admission from general manager Brandon Beane of a bad signing, but it would provide some financial relief to a cap-strapped team. It’s probably unlikely, but the idea can’t be entirely ruled out.