Bills post-spring 53-man roster projection: A possible bump at receiver and trim at linebacker

New York Times

5 hours ago

The Bills wrapped up their offseason practice schedule with the conclusion of their mandatory minicamp last week, which means the franchise is now into its cool-off period. The Bills will have a little over one month to collectively catch their breath before training camp begins in late July, and they'll have the nation's attention as the featured team of HBO's 'Hard Knocks.'
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Before they get back to work at St. John Fisher University, there is a batch of new information to process from what we saw throughout the practices. After taking in five full practices from the offseason program, how are things trending on the bubble and in who will make the team? Who could general manager Brandon Beane be looking at as their final decisions?
With the spring workouts done, here is a brand new Bills 53-man roster projection before camp begins in late July.
Josh Allen, Mitchell Trubisky
Unlike previous seasons, the quarterback group isn't as decided before training camp begins. The Bills insinuated after the spring that the backup job would need to be earned, and given Mike White's starting experience, that isn't just talk. Trubisky and White will likely go head-to-head this summer, but for now, Trubisky gets the leg up due to his partially guaranteed salary and the fact that he has more of a mobile element to his game than White. Having a rushing element mirrors Allen's game a bit more, and that could really help Trubisky win the job. However, make no mistake, this competition appears wide open.
Cut: Mike White, Shane Buechele
James Cook, Ty Johnson, Ray Davis, Reggie Gilliam (FB)
The Bills don't have much mystery regarding who will make the team at running back. They brought back the same group of players from last year's training camp, and the expectation is that the same four will emerge on the 53-man roster, barring an unbelievable preseason from one of Frank Gore Jr. or Darrynton Evans. The bigger question is how the Bills will spread their work around during the 2025 season between Cook, Johnson and Davis, as all three played well in their roles last season.
Cut: Frank Gore Jr., Darrynton Evans
Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer, Curtis Samuel, Elijah Moore, Laviska Shenault
The Bills have generally kept five receivers on their 53-man roster, but in this version, I've got them keeping six — one of which for a clear special teams reason. Shakir, Coleman, Palmer and Samuel are all locks, Elijah Moore seems like he's close to a lock, but Shenault is a clear bubble player. There are two main reasons for Shenault's inclusion. First, the new kickoff rules for 2025 should bring on more returns, and his ability in the open field is quite conducive to that role. Second, the Bills will have two additional roster spots to play with for the first six games due to suspensions to Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi. That would be just enough time for the team to figure out if Shenault will be their kickoff return specialist for the whole of 2025, and if they need to move on, they can very easily.
Cut: Jalen Virgil, Tyrell Shavers, Kaden Prather, KJ Hamler, Kelly Akhariyi, Stephen Gosnell, Kristian Wilkerson
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Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox, Jackson Hawes
The tight end group is pretty well decided for the 53-man roster, with Kincaid and Knox as complete locks and Hawes looking like a 90 percent lock, given his draft status and blocking skill set. Davidson is a locker room favorite and has had his moments in previous preseasons, so there is a chance — albeit a slim one — that he can make the Bills think they can't afford to cut him. Zach Davidson would need to show a dramatic improvement on special teams to do so, which makes those reps just as important, if not more, than what he does on offense. If he doesn't, I think there's a legitimate chance that both Davidson and undrafted rookie Keleki Latu wind up on the practice squad. Latu is an intriguing prospect with good athleticism for the position.
Cut: Zach Davidson, Keleki Latu
Dion Dawkins, David Edwards, Connor McGovern, O'Cyrus Torrence, Spencer Brown, Alec Anderson, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Tylan Grable, Chase Lundt
The top eight of the offensive line list are all likely roster locks, but the rest of the conversation comes down to two questions. Do the Bills want to keep 10 offensive linemen? If not, and they go with their usual nine, who will make it between Ryan Van Demark and rookie sixth-round pick Chase Lundt? In this edition, considering the offensive line really doesn't bring many special teams benefits, I'll have them going with nine, and choosing the rookie over Van Demark. Despite being in their system for the last three years, the trouble with Van Demark is that he hasn't progressed enough as a right tackle, and being a one-position-only reserve offensive lineman, it is difficult to justify keeping that profile unless the team made a semi-significant draft investment in the player. In Van Demark's case, they did not draft him, and he's a restricted free agent after the year, whereas Lundt is on a four-year rookie deal and a clean slate. However, if Lundt doesn't take the necessary steps forward during camp and the preseason, this could easily swing back in Van Demark's favor.
Cut: Ryan Van Demark, Kendrick Green, Richard Gouraige, Mike Edwards, Travis Clayton, Jacob Bayer, Rush Reimer
Greg Rousseau, Joey Bosa, A.J. Epenesa, Landon Jackson, Javon Solomon
There is some thought that Epenesa could be an expendable player via trade ahead of final cuts, but that would leave them fairly thin given that Hoecht is suspended for the first six games and Bosa has a lengthy injury history, and already has one minor injury to his name since joining the Bills. I would expect them to play it safe and keep Epenesa, given his starting experience. The Bills will see how far along Jackson is as a rookie by the end of the summer, and Solomon, at worst, will be a core-four special teams asset in 2025.
Reserve/Suspended: Michael Hoecht
Cut: Hayden Harris, Paris Shand
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Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, T.J. Sanders, DeWayne Carter, Deone Walker
Keeping six defensive tackles seems a bit rich, but it's something they've done before, and you don't need to look back further than last season for them rostering that many. But this year's roster has different challenges, including having six defensive ends and seven cornerbacks they'd like to keep. If there's one thing I'd keep an eye on, it would be a potential trade of Carter ahead of cutdown day, which would open up the pathway for Ogunjobi in Week 7 following his suspension. The Bills can always backfill the position with Zion Logue or a veteran they sign elsewhere to help in the first six weeks.
However, two things stand in the way of a Carter deal. First, they would like to see that Walker, a fourth-round rookie, can show he's up to taking backup one-technique snaps to begin the regular season, but Walker may be a bit more of a project, so that's not a guarantee. Carter does serve as some Walker insurance, given that Carter can play one technique. Second, Beane would need to buck his recent trend of not trading his draft picks in their second year, something he has stayed away from since trading away Wyatt Teller in 2019. Even when the team traded Boogie Basham, a second-round pick, it was in Basham's third season. Carter was a third-round pick and has only one season with the Bills, which could lead to Beane wanting to hang on despite their roster crunch.
Reserve/Suspended: Larry Ogunjobi
Cut: Zion Logue, Marcus Harris, Casey Rogers
Terrel Bernard, Matt Milano, Dorian Williams, Joe Andreessen, Baylon Spector
This position might yield a slight surprise of only keeping five, but if there's one spot to cut from, linebacker is it. Bernard, Milano, Williams and Andreessen are all secure to varying degrees for the 53-man roster. Spector's spot is a bit more tenuous given his injury history, especially if Andreessen passes him for the backup middle linebacker job, but Spector remains a good special teams player. As for the released players, Edefuan Ulofoshio improved as the season went on last year, but he didn't prove to be such an overwhelming special teams player that would make the Bills feel like they couldn't subject him to waivers. In this case, the Bills would likely try to get both Ulofoshio and veteran Shaq Thompson back on the practice squad.
Cut: Edefuan Ulofoshio, Shaq Thompson, Keonta Jenkins
Taron Johnson, Cam Lewis
A fairly straightforward cut, with Johnson as the starter and Lewis as the primary backup and trusted special teams piece. Te'Cory Couch has shown some good things over the last year, and he could be one of the team's future practice squad success stories in the coming years, but it seems a year too early right now. Brandon Codrington would need to win the return job because he's not enough of an asset on defense to justify his roster inclusion otherwise.
Cut: Te'Cory Couch, Brandon Codrington
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Christian Benford, Maxwell Hairston, Tre'Davious White, Dane Jackson, Dorian Strong
As of right now, cornerback comes down to Jackson versus Ja'Marcus Ingram. While Ingram stuck around on the 53-man roster in 2024, the Bills didn't boast nearly as much depth as they do now with the additions of Hairston, White, Jackson and Strong. As of right now, I give the edge to Jackson, who has started a lot of games for the Bills in his first stint with the team and can be a good special teams player for them. If Hairston doesn't acclimate quickly enough and White struggles, they'll like to have that experience with Jackson on their roster.
Cut: Ja'Marcus Ingram, Daequan Hardy, Daryl Porter Jr.
Taylor Rapp, Cole Bishop, Damar Hamlin, Jordan Hancock
Rapp, Bishop and Hamlin are all safe for the 53-man roster, so the conversation is rookie fifth-round pick Jordan Hancock against veteran free-agent pickup Darrick Forrest. Given what we saw of his skill set throughout the spring workouts, he looked much more comfortable when he could keep everything in front of him instead of one-on-one coverage. If the Bills believe Hancock is a safety, that could be bad news for Forrest, as they are far more likely to keep a draft pick than a free agent with low guaranteed money. For those wondering about Hamlin, his one-year, $2 million deal is fully guaranteed.
Cut: Darrick Forrest, Wande Owens
Tyler Bass (K), Brad Robbins (P), Reid Ferguson (LS)
This summer's #Puntapalooza is a wide-open competition between Robbins and Jake Camarda. In the five practices during spring workouts, Robbins was the better of the two, but it wasn't so much better to think he is the clear favorite to win the job. This job will likely come down to consistency in practices, the three preseason games and how well each player meshes with Bass as a holder on field goal attempts.
Cut: Jake Camarda (P)