Projecting the Bills 53-man roster ahead of roster cuts
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The Buffalo Bills mounted a glorious comeback to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-27 on Thursday night to cap a 3-0 preseason.
Now Brandon Beane, Joe Brady, and Co. have to trim the roster from 91 players to 53 by Sunday at 6pm EST. Therefore it’s time for my final roster projection of the summer.
Quarterback (2)
- Josh Allen
- Kyle Allen
Allen won the QB2 battle — a competition that did have some legs in training camp — with another surgical performance in the second preseason game. He’s not the best backup in the NFL but appears comfortable in Joe Brady’s system.
Running Back (4)*
- James Cook
- Ray Davis
- Frank Gore Jr.
- Ben VanSumeren
Tipping the scales back to Gore Jr. after he demonstrated how he can make something out of nothing on multiple occasions against the Steelers and had another stellar blitz pickup on a Shane Buechele long completion for the second-straight week. This is no slight on Ian Wheeler. He was dynamic in the preseason. Gore Jr. has earned this spot on the roster that he’ll at least hold until Ty Johnson returns from what I’m predicting will be a IR designation to begin the season.
Wide Receiver (6)
- D.J. Moore
- Khalil Shakir
- Josh Palmer
- Keon Coleman
- Skyler Bell
- Trent Sherfield
No changes here — I wanted to include Mecole Hardman here as the primary punt returner. But he muffed a punt last season and had three drops in the preseason. I’m guessing Ray Davis will be the primary kick and punt returner this season. Yes, his initial muff was ugly.
Tight End (3)
- Dalton Kincaid
- Dawson Knox
- Jackson Hawes
Despite strong pushes by Keleki Latu and even Shane Zylstra, the Bills opt to keep their normal three tight ends on the roster. Do not sleep on Latu or even Zylstra getting practice-squad elevations this season. They’ve proven their worth this summer.
Offensive Line (9)*
- Dion Dawkins
- Alec Anderson
- Connor McGovern
- O’Cyrus Torrence
- Spencer Brown
- Austin Corbett
- Lloyd Cushenberry
- Tylan Grable
- Sedrick Van Pran-Granger
For now, I have nine Bills blockers making the roster but there are caveats galore here. Given that Jude Bowry was seen in a walking boot at practice this week, it’s sensible for this raw, high-upside rookie to start the season on IR, making room for another player on the 53-man roster. That player is Van Pran-Granger who, despite losing the backup center job to Cushenberry, pieced together a strong summer.
Then there’s this reasonably distinct possibility — the Bills trim the roster to 52 players to prep to add a veteran blocker released by another team after they trade Van Pran-Granger to the Commanders (or another interior offensive line needy club).
Defensive Line (6)*
- Ed Oliver
- Deone Walker
- T.J. Sanders
- Landon Jackson
- Greg Gaines
- Zane Durant
No changes here, although Durant leaving the Steelers game late with what looked to be a non-serious injury, is worth monitoring.
InsideLinebacker (4)
- Terrel Bernard
- Kaleb Elarms-Orr
- Dorian Williams
- Joe Andreessen
Yes, I just advocated a place for Jenkins on the 53-man roster earlier this morning… but Andreessen is more of a proven commodity as a depth linebacker and special teams ace. He is ahead of Jenkins’ developmental track by a year, having first made the team in 2024. In this case, the Bills cling to hope Jenkins isn’t snagged by another club after Buffalo moves him to the practice squad.
RushLinebacker (6)
- Greg Rousseau
- Bradley Chubb
- Michael Hoecht
- T.J. Parker
- Javon Solomon
- Mike Danna
Based on WAWW, Danna would not make the roster. He played the majority of the fourth quarter in the final preseason. That’s typically a dead giveaway that a player isn’t going to be part of the original 53-man roster to start a regular season. HOWEVER, Danna provides Buffalo serious experience on the edge — along with some interior rushing flexibility — and I expect Leonhard would want an extra rush linebacker over another inside linebacker (see: Keonta Jenkins). Although special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers probably would lean in the opposite direction.
.Defensive Backs (10)
- Christian Benford
- Maxwell Hairston
- Dee Alford
- Davison Igbinosun
- Cole Bishop
- CJ Gardner-Johnson
- Jordan Hancock
- Jalon Kilgore
- Kani Walker
- Sam Franklin Jr.
I’ve gone back and forth on Damar Hamlin — he was an afterthought this offseason but has parlayed a strong camp into a solid preseason, and I do think in a perfect world, the Bills would like to keep him as veteran experience at safety behind Cole Bishop and CJ Gardner-Johnson. For this projection, he’s left off the 53-man roster with Buffalo hoping he can be stored on the practice squad, although I do think it’s very possible Hamlin vs. Franklin Jr. is the final roster decision for Beane to make.
Specialists (3)
- Reid Ferguson
- Tommy Doman Jr.
- Tyler Bass
Hard to say if there’s been a clear winner in the punter battle — as both Mitch Wishnowsky and Doman only got cracks at it in the second preseason game. This one could go down to the wire.
*Phidarian Mathis will begin serving his three-game suspension at the start of the regular season so he will not originally be on the 53-man roster Week 1.
*Ty Johnson and Jude Bowry begin the season on IR in this projection
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