
Buffalo Bills 2025 roster tracker: Maxwell Hairston starts the season on injured reserve as initial 53-man roster is set
Although the deadline to do so was 4 p.m. Tuesday, it wasn't until two hours later, shortly after 6 p.m., that the team announced it had released 27 players and placed two on injured reserve to make their roster compliant.
Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott said his team would take its time in deciding who would make its initial 53-man roster.
The head coach was not kidding. Although the deadline to do so was 4 p.m. Tuesday, it wasn't until two hours later, shortly after 6 p.m., that the team announced it had released 27 players and placed two on injured reserve to make their roster compliant.
Rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston, the team's first-round draft pick in April, and second-year offensive tackle Tylan Grable were placed on injured reserve with a designation to return, meaning they will miss at least the first four games of the season. Hairston is dealing with a knee injury, while Grable has a concussion.
The Bills also cut more than two dozen players from their roster Tuesday. Those let go were: Quarterbacks Mike White and Shane Buechele, running back Frank Gore Jr., wide receivers Deon Cain, Stephen Gosnell, K.J. Hamler, Laviska Sheanult and Kristian Wilkerson, tight ends Zach Davidson and Keleki Latu, offensive linemen Jacob Bayer, Travis Clayton, Mike Edwards, Dan Feeney, Richard Gouraige and Kendrick Green, defensive end Paris Shand, defensive tackles Marcus Harris, Zion Logue, Jordan Phillips and Casey Rogers, linebackers Jimmy Ciarlo, Keonta Jenkins and Edefuan Ulofoshio, cornerbacks Daequan Hardy and Dane Jackson and safety Darrick Forrest.
As a reminder: Players with less than four years of NFL experience are subject to waivers, meaning they can be claimed by any of the league's other 31 teams and put on the claiming team's 53-man roster. If unclaimed, that player becomes an unrestricted free agent. Veterans with at least four years of NFL experience are not subject to waivers and immediately become unrestricted free agents.

The Bills have reportedly released veteran cornerback Dane Jackson. Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News
Additionally, defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi and edge rusher Michael Hoecht were placed on the league's reserve/suspended list. They will each miss the first six games of the season.
Teams can begin assembling their 16-player practice squad Wednesday by signing players who have cleared waivers.
Here is a closer look at some of those who were waived or released Tuesday:
• Buechele will have to go through waivers, while White immediately becomes a free agent. It's expected at least one of them will return to the practice squad to serve as the team's third quarterback, with Mitch Trubisky backing up Josh Allen on the active roster.
• Veteran cornerback Jackson was released. He re-signed with the Bills this offseason after spending last year with Carolina, but had some struggles in the preseason and was passed on the depth chart by rookie Dorian Strong. Assuming another team doesn’t show interest in signing him to its 53-man roster, a return to the Bills' practice squad could make sense for both sides. Jackson's release also could be viewed as a good sign for veteran cornerback Tre'Davious White, who suffered a lower-body injury in practice last week. General manager Brandon Beane is expected to provide an update on White's condition Wednesday when he speaks to the media. If he's not ready for Week 1, it remains to be seen who will start opposite Christian Benford at cornerback against the Ravens. Rookie Dorian Strong and veteran Ja'Marcus Ingram are veterans who made the 53-man roster.
• Wide receiver Gosnell was waived, but the team hopes to re-sign him to its practice squad if he clears waivers. Gosnell had some strong moments during training camp, and finished the preseason with five catches for 41 yards.
• Cornerback Hardy, a 2024 sixth-round draft pick, was unable to win the team’s return jobs and struggled to move up the defensive depth chart.
• Offensive lineman Gouraige spent the 2024 season on the Bills’ practice squad, but with little turnover ahead of him on the depth chart, was unable to make the 53-man roster.
• Wide receiver Shenault Jr., a sixth-year veteran, had some strong moments in the preseason, particularly in the first game against the Giants, but appeared to fade as the summer wore on. His best shot at making the roster was as the team’s primary return man. With Hamler, Shenault and Hardy being cut, the primary return man looks to be cornerback Brandon Codrington.
• Offensive lineman Edwards is a mountain of a man at 6-foot-5 and 363 pounds. He works mostly on the interior of the offensive line. Like Gouraige, Edwards was hurt by the fact the Bills have so much continuity up front.
• Offensive lineman Feeney, a ninth-year veteran who is not subject to waivers, signed during training camp to provide depth, but was not able to unseat anyone ahead of him on the depth chart.
• Running back Gore Jr. led the Bills in both rushing and receiving in the preseason with 23 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown and 11 catches for 109 yards. Gore spent most of last season on the practice squad and could land there again as depth behind James Cook, Ray Davis and Ty Johnson.
• A seventh-round pick of the team in 2024, Clayton is part of the NFL's International Player Pathway program. If he goes unclaimed through waivers, he could rejoin the team's practice squad. The NFL provides a roster exemption for a 17th spot on the practice squad to an international player.
• The Bills waived linebacker Ulofoshio, a 2024 fifth-round draft pick who played in four games as a rookie. Veteran Shaq Thompson and Lancaster High School product Joe Andreessen made the team as depth linebackers behind Terrel Bernard, Matt Milano and Dorian Williams.
• The Bills released fourth-year veteran receiver Hamler. A star of HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series that has followed the Bills this summer, Hamler wasn’t able to win the team’s return job, which hurt his chances. Despite moving on from Hamler, Shenault, Cain, Gosnell and Wilkerson, the Bills still kept six wide receivers on the active roster -- Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer, Curtis Samuel, Elijah Moore and Tyrell Shavers.
• Both tight ends who were let go, Latu and Davidson, are expected to be candidates for the practice squad.
• According to a report from the Associated Press, the Bills hope to bring linebacker Jimmy Ciarlo back to the practice squad, should he clear waivers. Ciarlo made a strong impression after joining the Bills during training camp.
• Forrest, a fifth-year veteran, was released. Signed to a one-year contract during the offseason, Forrest struggled to move up the depth chart during the summer, even while projected starters Cole Bishop and Taylor Rapp missed time with injuries.
• Rogers appeared in two games with the Giants last season after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent. The Bills claimed him off waivers, but after adding to defensive tackle both in free agency and the draft, he wasn't able to make the active roster.
• Jenkins, a rookie undrafted free agent linebacker, had a strong first preseason against the Giants, but suffered an ankle injury a short time after that. The Bills have hopes of bringing Jenkins back to the practice squad if he clears waivers, a league source told The News.
Elsewhere around the NFL in former Bills news, veteran cornerback Rasul Douglas is signing with the Miami Dolphins, according to multiple reports. Douglas becomes the second former Bills player in as many days to find a new home, after veteran wide receiver Amari Cooper agreed to terms Monday with the Raiders. Additionally, former Bills edge rusher Boogie Basham, a second-round pick of the team in 2021, was released by the Carolina Panthers. Former Bills receiver Robert Woods was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers.