The big fella faces stiff competition for a roster spot on the inside
The Buffalo Bills love to build depth on the offensive line. Year in and year out, players that the Bills release in August are picked up by other teams, and often, those players end up playing in regular-season games up front for other clubs. Buffalo also loves versatile offensive linemen, especially in their reserves, so if someone can play multiple spots, it amplifies his chances of making the team.
In today’s edition of “91 players in 91 days,” we discuss an offensive lineman who’s listed as an “OL” rather than at a specific position. However, he hasn’t branched out to those multiple spots quite yet.
Kevin Jarvis
- Number: 63
- Position: OL
- Height/Weight: 6’6”, 325 pounds
- Age: 25 (26 on 12/22/2024)
- Experience/Draft: 1; signed with the Detroit Lions following the 2022 NFL Draft
- College: Michigan State
- Acquired: Signed with Bills on 4/14/2023
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Jarvis signed a reserve/futures contract at the end of last season. That deal is worth $1.764 million over two years. Of that total, just $9,000 is guaranteed, and that figure represents the dead-cap charge Buffalo will carry if Jarvis is released. If he makes the roster, he carries a cap hit of $799,500 for the 2024 season.
2023 Recap: Jarvis made it through the offseason, training camp, and the preseason with the Bills. He worked in with the third team at guard for most of the summer. Jarvis played in all of Buffalo’s preseason games, with the majority of his playing time coming in the preseason finale against the Chicago Bears. Jarvis was released at the end of the preseason, but he re-signed with the team on the practice squad immediately thereafter. He remained on the practice squad for the duration of the season and wasn’t activated for any games.
Positional outlook: Jarvis is battling with La’el Collins, Keaton Bills, Gunner Britton, Mike Edwards, Alec Anderson, Will Clapp, and Sedrick Van Pran-Granger for the right to back up David Edwards, Connor McGovern, and O’Cyrus Torrence.
2024 Offseason: Jarvis is healthy and he has reported to training camp.
2024 Season outlook: I don’t say this to be rude, but if Jarvis is on the 53-man roster come September, the Bills likely have a big problem up front. The interior group seems pretty well set in that the starters are who they are, and between Anderson, Collins, and Van Pran-Granger, the team has three reserves who can play multiple spots. Unless there are injuries ahead of him, Jarvis is fighting to keep his spot on the practice squad.