Bills 53-man roster projection ahead of preseason finale
The 2023 NFL preseason is underway for the Buffalo Bills.
The exhibition season continued with a 27-15 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. That latest dose of Bills football gave us some insights into who could end up making the team’s final roster.
With that, here is Bills Wire’s way-too-early 53-man roster projection ahead of their preseason finale against the Chicago Bears:
Quarterback
Roster (2): Josh Allen, Kyle Allen
Cut(s): Matt Barkley.
After head coach Sean McDermott declared an open battle for the backup QB position… Barkley did nothing to take advantage of it. After Kyle Allen was brutal against the Indianapolis Colts, Barkley was worse against the Steelers. Barkley will still end up on the practice squad.
While Johnson did sign this week… that’d be amazing if he made the cut. He could be in a spot to make a practice squad push over Evans, though.
Running back
Roster (4): Damien Harris, James Cook, Latavius Murray, Reggie Gilliam (FB)
Cut(s): Darrynton Evans, Jordan Mims, Ty Johnson
Following Nyheim Hines’ season-ending knee injury, this position group became straight forward. There are some questions around Harris because of his lack of preseason playing time due to a knee injury, but he’s still likely to make the cut thanks to his experience. Murray has played well with the extended snaps he’s gotten without Harris in the fold as well.
Tight end
Roster (3): Dawson Knox, Dalton Kincaid, Quintin Morris
Cut(s): Joel Wilson, Jace Sternberger
While this is a thin number, Gilliam has the versatility to help out in a pinch. Sternberger’s fumble against the Colts locked in how easy this one is to project.
Wide receiver
Roster (7): Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, Deonte Harty, Khalil Shakir, Trent Sherfield, Justin Shorter, Andy Isabella
Cut(s): KeeSean Johnson, Tyrell Shavers, Dezmon Patmon, Isaiah Coulter, Bryan Thompson, Marcell Ateman
Keeping seven receivers is out of the norm for the Bills, but they’ve really been turning to Isabella throughout the preseason. Harty can do that job as well, but there could be a world where the Bills coaching staff doesn’t want to just rely on just one player there.
As a fifth-round rookie, Shorter was always making the team. Seeing a good effort out of him against the Steelers was still nice to see.
Offensive line
Roster (9): Dion Dawkins, Connor McGovern, Mitch Morse, O’Cyrus Torrence, Spencer Brown, David Edwards, Ike Boettger, Ryan Bates, David Quessenberry
Cut(s): Greg Mancz, Alec Anderson, Nick Broeker, Kevin Jarvis, Richard Gouraige, Garrett McGhin, Ryan Van Demark
Recent news has all but handed Quessenberry the swing tackle job. Brandon Shell abruptly retired. Tommy Doyle (knee) has been placed on season-ending injured reserve. Quessenberry is all that is left.
But this is now a huge position to watch on cut down day because of that lack of depth at tackle.
Bates has the versatility to play every position on the O-line–but are the Bills comfortable with that? There’s a chance the team makes a surprise cut to the interior in order to either keep an extra tackle like Van Demark or to sign a player that was released by another team.
Defensive tackle
Roster (5): Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, Poona Ford, Tim Settle, Jordan Phillips
Cut(s): Eli Ankou, Kendal Vickers, DJ Dale, Cortez Broughton
Back from the PUP list, Phillips rounds out this group. Settle has played well throughout the summer after reworking his contract with the team and Ford clearly has a place as another space eater in the middle.
Defensive end
Roster (4): Greg Rousseau, AJ Epenesa, Boogie Basham, Leonard Floyd
Cut(s): Kingsley Jonathan, Kameron Cline, Shaq Lawson
Injury: Von Miller
It’s still up in the in terms of what will happen with Miller. He remains on the PUP list for now, and considering a return by opening day would be incredibly fast, we’ll keep him there.
After Miller’s return is really where this position group gets interesting. Who ends up leaving? There could be a trade or a valuable piece placed on the waiver wire by the Bills.
As of now, Lawson might be an odd-man out. Not only because Basham has played well during the preseason, but Lawson is not a special teams contributor.
Linebacker
Roster (6): Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard, Tyrel Dodson, Dorian Williams, Tyler Matakevich, AJ Klein
Cut(s): Baylon Spector, Travin Howard, DaShaun White
The battle to replace Tremaine Edmunds rolls on for another week… especially since Bernard hasn’t played yet in the preseason due to a hamstring injury. Dodson has seen extended playing time but has been a mixed bag.
Spector was briefly getting a chance to earn that job in training camp but now Klein appears to be ahead of him in the pecking order. Because of that and the unsettling play from Dodson, Klein could be kept for his veteran experience.
Cornerback
Roster (6): Tre’Davious White, Kaiir Elam, Taron Johnson, Dane Jackson, Christian Benford, Siran Neal
Cut(s): Ja’Marcus Ingram, Kyron Brown, Alex Austin, Cam Lewis
The Bills have had an infatuation with Lewis, but a groin injury has kept him sidelined or limited for a chunk of the summer. That, plus other pieces in the secondary like Neal and safety Taylor Rapp provide a similar skill set.
In terms of starting, Jackson looks like he has the edge… but officially, no starter has been named just yet.
Safety
Roster (4): Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, Taylor Rapp, Damar Hamlin
Cut(s): Jared Mayden, Zayne Anderson, Dean Marlowe
Hamlin looks poised to make the final roster after his start to the preseason. What a ride it has been.
Specialists
Roster (3): Tyler Bass, Sam Martin, Reid Ferguson
Cut(s): N/A
