Who do you think will make the team after the dust settles?
The Buffalo Bills’ roster, for the most part, is likely set for the 2024 season. Obviously, June 1 brings an extra $10 million for Buffalo in terms of salary cap space, but with general manager Brandon Beane saying “there’s no trade coming” and that the additional money is already earmarked, any summer additions to the team are likely to be less significant than some may prefer.
That means that #PROJECTIONSZN is upon us once more, and capturing opinions on what the Bills will do with the roster after the final cuts have been made and any “wait in the parking lot” vet maneuvers have been leveraged to sneak players on Injured Reserve is a topic du jour.
Without further ado, here’s my own 53 man roster projection:
Quarterback: 2
- Josh Allen
- Mitchell Trubisky
No surprises here. Shane Buechele is your practice squad quarterback in this projection. The Bills have historically carried two QBs on the active roster, and I see no reason why that would change at this time.
Running Back: 4
- James Cook
- Ray Davis
- Ty Johnson
- Reggie Gilliam
Davis and Johnson become the Damien Harris and Latavius Murray replacements for 2024. It feels likely that Frank Gore Jr. will accumulate some love during training camp and the preseason. The Bills keeping four halfbacks with only one of them as a surefire special teams player is a tough item to predict.
Wide Receiver: 6
- Curtis Samuel
- Khalil Shakir
- Keon Coleman
- Mack Hollins
- Quintez Cephus
- Tyrell Shavers
Predicted to be the most hotly debated of the Bills’ positional battles, WR 5/6/(7?) is likely to come down to Cephus, Shavers, Justin Shorter, K.J. Hamler, Andy Isabella, and Chase Claypool fighting it out with Bryan Thompson, Xavier Johnson, and Lawrence Keys III for the final spots. Wide receiver usually takes up a meaningful part of fan consciousness in training camp due to the amount of players rostered there relative to the amount of spots most teams have, but with the departures of previous target hog Stefon Diggs and the loss of Gabe Davis to free agency, it takes center stage for the Bills even more so now.
Receivers after WR3 on the depth chart have to be able to play special teams — Hollins, Cephus, and Shavers can do that. The NFL’s new kickoff rule may make teams lean in even a little bit harder to that in their receiver and cornerback rooms when searching for the players to fill out the back end of the depth chart. Hollins played over 50% of his teams’ special teams snaps in four different seasons. Cephus played 93% of the Detroit Lions’ special teams snaps in 2020 as a rookie. Shavers is tied for the record for most blocked punts in San Diego State history with three and has been name-dropped by Brandon Beane multiple times this offseason. In addition, all three bring a size element to the team that seems to be a focal point of the offseason for the Bills in their reworking of the receiver room.
Tight End: 3
- Dalton Kincaid
- Dawson Knox
- Quintin Morris
Perhaps the most chalk room in this projection apart from quarterback, the Bills roll out the same group of three as in 2023.
Offensive Line: 9
- Dion Dawkins
- Spencer Brown
- Ryan VanDemark
- Alec Anderson
- Connor McGovern
- O’Cyrus Torrence
- David Edwards
- Spencer Van-Pran Granger
- Will Clapp
The Bills essentially swap Mitch Morse and Ryan Bates for Van-Pran Granger and Clapp in this roster projection. Offensive tackle Tylan Grable, a sixth-round pick this past April, is an ideal practice squad developmental candidate given his tools and the rawness to his game.
Defensive Line: 10
- Gregory Rousseau
- A.J. Epenesa
- Von Miller
- DaQuan Jones
- Ed Oliver
- DeWayne Carter
- Casey Toohill
- Dawuane Smoot
- Austin Johnson
- Kingsley Jonathan
The Bills carry four defensive tackles and six defensive ends in this projection after carrying five and five to start 2023. Smoot is the player signed most recently who — if he’s returned fully to form after a late 2022 Achilles injury that cost him a chunk of 2023 — could be a sneakily solid addition to the rotation. Kingsley Jonathan makes the team over Javon Solomon specifically for special teams after playing over 41% of those snaps for the Bills last year.
Linebacker: 5
- Matt Milano
- Terrell Bernard
- Dorian Williams
- Nicholas Morrow
- Edefuan Ulofoshio
The Bills aren’t getting the 2021 version of Deion Jones and barring an injury, Ulofoshio feels more likely to get the final linebacker spot. He projects well into a special teams role after making an impact there in college and Morrow provides valuable experience in place of calling A.J. Klein off his couch.
Cornerback: 7
- Christian Benford
- Rasul Douglas
- Kaiir Elam
- Ja’Marcus Ingram
- Taron Johnson
- Cam Lewis
- Daquan Hardy
Hardy makes the team mainly as a return man, which allows the Bills flexibility with Cam Lewis to potentially play some snaps at safety as well. Ingram may have been the biggest winner of the offseason for the Bills after they didn’t add any meaningful roster competition at outside cornerback.
Safety: 4
- Taylor Rapp
- Cole Bishop
- Mike Edwards
- Damar Hamlin
Edwards/Bishop/Rapp become the three safeties competing for two starting spots while Hamlin continues to be a special teams contributor when active.
Specialists: 3
- Kicker: Tyler Bass
- Punter: Sam Martin
- Long Snapper: Reid Ferguson
Despite the less-than-smooth ending to the 2023 season, both of the Bills’ incumbent specialists are back for 2024 along with the tenured Ferguson.
Where do your predictions differ from mine? Wide receiver is likely to get the most attention as stated above — but do you think the Bills surprise at any other position group? Sound off in the comments below!
...and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I’m Bruce Nolan with Buffalo Rumblings. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @BruceExclusive.