We’re at the halfway point with the longest-tenured member of the roster
It may be cliche, but in the NFL, the only thing that’s constant is change. The Buffalo Bills aren’t immune to this, and we as fans see it in the constant turnover on the team’s roster. Thanks to the salary cap and the pressures of performing, not to mention the realities of trying to compete in a highly-competitive sport, teams are likely to add, subtract, trade, sign, release, and trade players in perpetuity.
Those are some of the many reasons why players seem less likely to remain with one club for the duration of their careers like they did in the “old days.” Free agency grants players the freedom to test their worth in an open market, and billions of dollars in revenue give clubs the ability to pry players away from other teams each offseason.
This is all a long-winded way of introducing a familiar face here in our “91 players in 91 days” series. He’s the longest-tenured member of the roster, and is actually the only player with the team currently whose time with the Bills predates that of head coach Sean McDermott. So, he’s the perfect player to represent the midway point of this series.
Reid Ferguson
- Number: 69
- Position: LS
- Height/Weight: 6’2”, 235 pounds
- Age: 30 (31 on 3/24/2025)
- Experience/Draft: 8; signed with Buffalo following the 2016 NFL Draft
- College: LSU
- Acquired: UDFA signing
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Ferguson is in the final year of a two-year deal he signed prior to last season. For the 2024 season, he carries a cap hit of $1,212,500 if he makes the roster. Buffalo will carry a dead-cap charge of the remainder of his signing bonus — just $2,500 — if he’s released.
2023 Recap: Ferguson once again served as Buffalo’s long snapper for every game, a Job he’s held since the start of the 2017 NFL season. He made three special teams tackles for the club last season, bringing his career total to 12 tackles.
Positional outlook: Ferguson is the only long snapper in town.
2024 Offseason: Ferguson is healthy and participating in offseason work. He also loves to grill. His brother, Miami Dolphins long snapper Blake Ferguson, was married earlier this summer. While Blake gave all of his groomsmen football jerseys, the entire party was gifted Dolphins jerseys except for Reid. His was a Bills jersey, proving that his commitment to the organization even extends to his own brother’s nuptials.
2024 Season outlook: Ferguson is going to be Buffalo’s long snapper this year. If the team needs to sneak someone onto the roster, especially a player they’d like to place on Injured Reserve without prematurely causing that player’s season to end, it’s possible that Ferguson will be released on Final Cut day only to be re-signed hours later.
The team has done that before (most recently last summer), so it’s possible that they do it again if they need. However, it’s clear that not only has Ferguson done his job well on the field, but he’s been an asset to the locker room and the community throughout his tenure with Buffalo. He’ll be on the squad come September.