A mammoth offensive lineman looks to crack the roster
The Buffalo Bills love versatile offensive linemen. They also love players who are physical specimens, high-quality athletes whose measurable physical talents outweigh the level of competition against which they competed collegiately. Given that the offensive line is tasked with protecting “the Franchise,” it’s a strategy that has to work.
For the Bills and general manager Brandon Beane, building quality depth up front is of paramount concern. While some teams are scouring the waiver wire for help along the offensive line in the offseason, Buffalo generally has enough linemen where they’re trading players for draft capital come the end of August.
In today’s installment of “91 players in 91 days,” we profile a big, athletic left tackle with plenty of potential.
Mike Edwards
- Number: 75
- Position: OL
- Height/Weight: 6’5”, 363 pounds
- Age: 25 (26 on 11/10/2024)
- Experience/Draft: R; signed with Buffalo following the 2024 NFL Draft
- College: Campbell
- Acquired: UDFA signing
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Edwards signed a three-year contract with the Bills worth a total of $2.843 million. Of that total, $13,000 is guaranteed in the form of a signing bonus. That’s the total amount that the Bills will carry as a dead-cap charge if Edwards is released. If he makes the team, Edwards carries a cap hit of $799,333 for the season.
2023 Recap: Edwards was the starting left tackle for the Campbell Fighting Camels in 10 games last season. For his efforts, the big man was named First-Team All-CAA (Colonial Athletic Conference) just one year after being named First-Team All-Big South Conference. He is currently the only player in Campbell history to be named All-American twice. Coming into the season, Edwards was also on Phil Steele’s First-Team All-America, and he was a preseason Second-Team All-American at The Blue Bloods and Stats Perform. He ended the year on the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl watch list. He wasn’t invited to the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, but with a wingspan of over seven feet, he has ridiculous length to go with tremendous size.
Positional outlook: Edwards is one of many offensive linemen on the roster, and while his experience in college came at left tackle, that doesn’t mean the Bills won’t try him as a guard. The other linemen on the roster are Dion Dawkins, Spencer Brown, La’el Collins, Alec Anderson, Ryan Van Demark, Richard Gouraige, Dylan Grable, Travis Clayton, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Will Clapp, Connor McGovern, O’Cyrus Torrence, Keaton Bills, Kevin Jarvis, David Edwards, and Gunner Britton.
2024 Offseason: Edwards is healthy and ready for training camp.
2024 Season outlook: It’s highly unlikely that Edwards makes the roster in 2024, but it’s quite likely that Buffalo will want to keep him around on their practice squad. Guys with that kind of size and strength don’t grow on trees, and if the Bills feel they can coach the kid up over the course of the season, they could have something here.
If they decide to transition him to guard — something that NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein thinks is a necessity — and Edwards responds well to the transition, the Bills will have exactly the kind of backup lineman they covet.