Justin’s Final Buffalo Bills 53-Man Roster Projection

Justin’s Final Buffalo Bills 53-Man Roster Projection | The Wandering Buffalo

Damien Harris, Buffalo Bills RB

As the preseason winds down and we ramp up for the regular season, it seems as good a time as any for a roster projection. This time of year in the NFL moves very fast and this projection will likely be null and void in about a week. As teams trim down the roster, players from other teams that Beane may think can help our roster may be available. Different moves will be made to make room for guys from outside the organization. This projection is based on the team we have today.

QUARTERBACKS (2): Josh Allen, Kyle Allen

Matt Barkley made a case to be the QB2 in the first preseason game as Kyle Allen struggled. He gave back all that momentum with a dreadful preseason Week 2 performance and sustained a throwing arm injury on top of that. Barkley will find himself in the same role he has the past couple of seasons; on the practice squad as QB3.

RUNNING BACKS (4): James Cook, Latavius Murray, Ty Johnson, Reggie Gilliam

My first difficult/surprise cut comes in the running back room with Damien Harris. This is not something I want to see happen, but I think there is more to his story than we have been given. Harris has had knee issues in the past, and has yet to play a live snap due to some form of knee injury (Harris playing in the preseason finale changes things). I think the team had big plans for Harris, but if he can’t be on the field, they may have to pivot, and I think that’s exactly what they did with the signing of Ty Johnson. Johnson has been a sufficient player in the NFL and can be a 4 phase special teams player. I look at him as Taiwan Jones, that actually factors into the offense.

TIGHT ENDS (3): Dawson Knox, Dalton Kincaid, Quintin Morris

Jace Sternberger has had some moments in the preseason thus far. Has it been enough to knock Morris down? I don’t think so. The team values special teams' contributions and knows what they get out of Morris in that role.

WIDE RECEIVERS (6): Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, Trent Sherfield, Deonte Harty, Khalil Shakir, Andy Isabella

The top 5 seem pretty set in stone and the debate starts at WR6 for me. I would love to believe that the team may keep 7 receivers, but they have not any time recently, and in a season where they will seemingly be moving to more 12 personnel I don’t think it will happen this year. Andy Isabella has shown really nice moments through the preseason and provides a speed element that the team does not have a ton of. Justin Shorter is tough to project as a cut being a draft pick from this year. Hopefully, he can be snuck onto the practice squad.

OFFENSIVE LINE (10): Dion Dawkins, Connor McGovern, Mitch Morse, O’Cyrus Torrence, Spencer Brown, David Quessenberry, David Edwards, Ryan Bates, Ryan Van Demark, Nick Broeker

The unfortunate injury to Tommy Doyle and the unexpected retirement of Brandon Shell made this easier as far as the numbers go while making the depth more concerning. Nick Broeker has looked pretty good in preseason thus far, and being a draft pick this year, I gave him a slight edge over Richard Gouraige. With Doyle's injury and Shell’s retirement both affecting the tackle position, I wouldn’t be surprised if they kept Gouraige. That being said, we have also seen Spencer Brown have his struggles, and with all those combined factors, I think Tackle is the most likely position we will see some shuffling as players get cut from other teams.

SPECIALISTS (3): Tyler Bass, Sam Martin, Reid Ferguson

Can’t forget about our special teams players. No big surprises here. All three players have been very good consistently, and no competition was brought in for any of them.

SAFETIES (4): Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, Taylor Rapp, Damar Hamlin

Hamlin was the biggest question mark here after a catastrophic injury last year. I wondered if he would ever play football again at the time, and as football started he suited up what he would look like. Hamlin has looked good through the preseason.

CORNERBACKS (7): Tre'Davious White, Dane Jackson, Kaiir Elam, Taron Johnson, Christian Benford, Cam Lewis, Siran Neal

Might be a little heavy on corners, but with how much the depth was tested last year, I expect an extra player or two. Siran Neal sticks around mostly for his special teams ability. Cam Lewis serves as Taron Johnson’s primary backup, and may have some versatility at safety in a pinch.

LINEBACKERS (5): Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard, Dorian Williams, AJ Klein, Tyler Matakevich

Similar to the tackle room I think this position group could change the most as players become available. Dodson was given an opportunity to be the starting MLB and has been a disappointment. If Bernard was healthy I think he would win this competition. As it stands now I think the team would be more comfortable starting Klein than Dodson in Week 1. I think there will be some movement in this room and the Week 1 starter may not even be on the roster yet. That being said, we have some youth at the LB position and if we don’t feel good about Dodson starting I would rather rely on them as the starter/depth if another player is brought in to start.

DEFENSIVE LINE (9): Greg Rousseau, Leonard Floyd, AJ Epensa, Boogie Basham, Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, Jordan Philips, Poona Ford, Tim Settle

By far the hardest position groups to trim down for me, and yes I know I don’t have Von Miller on here. I anticipate Von being on the PUP list and coming back around Week 6. The corresponding move as it stands now would likely be Tim Settle, but we will have to wait and see what kind of injuries may pop up. Cutting Shaq Lawson was almost impossible for me even to type, but the team has interesting depth, and dipping into the well of former players may be coming to an end. That being said, there wasn’t much market for him this off-season and he played well last year. I am immediately putting him on the practice squad to serve as high-end emergency depth and be a savvy veteran voice in the room. Kingsley Jonathan has also been sneaky good and might find a way to wiggle onto this roster, I just wasn’t able to make it happen without projecting trades. Perhaps Beane flips a guy or two (Boogie?) and Kingsley Jonathan finds his way onto the team.

What did you think of my projection? Anything you like or think I missed the mark on completely? Leave it in the comments.

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Justin Goddard
CO-FOUNDER - CONTENT CREATOR