It’s the weekend after the final preseason game, which means the Buffalo Bills will be cutting their roster from 90 to 53 players. Last year, the NFL changed the roster rules and removed the initial cutdown period, which put all the emphasis on a single weekend of cuts. Teams batched their releases over the course of the weekend, and will likely do the same leading up to Saturday’s 4pm deadline. Last year the Bills didn’t make any noteworthy moves besides releasing promising young running back Jonathan Williams (and keeping Mike Tolbert on the roster) and backup linebacker Gerald Hodges. This year, the roster bubble includes wide receivers like Corey Coleman and Ray-Ray McCloud, half of Buffalo’s tight ends, and possibly veteran quarterback AJ McCarron. As the NFL roster cuts trickle in, we’ll be listing them all here. When the Bills start signing players to fix some vacancies, or fill out their practice squad, we’ll have you covered for that too. Cuts: WR Brandon Reilly (per his Twitter feed) LB Tanner Vallejo (per Ian Rapoport) OL Gerhard de Beer (per his agent, Brett Tessler) WR Corey Coleman (per Ian Rapoport) DB Dean Marlowe (per NFL Draft Diamonds) WR Cam Phillips (per Joe Buscaglia) TE Keith Towbridge (per Joe Buscaglia) C Adam Redmond (per Joe Buscaglia) FB Sam Rogers (per Joe Buscaglia) DT Albert Havili (per Joe Buscaglia) CB Breon Borders (per Joe Buscaglia) DT Tyrunn Walker (per Tom Pelissero) T Mo Porter (per Joe Buscaglia) WR Malachi Dupre (per Matthew Fairburn) S Kelcie McCray (per Aaron Wilson) DE Mat Boesen (per the Bills) G Ike Boettger (per the Bills) RB Travaris Cadet (per the Bills) CB Ryan Carter (per the Bills) WR Kaelin Clay (per the Bills) DE Terrence Fede (per the Bills) RB Keith Ford (per the Bills) DT Rickey Hatley (per the Bills) T Josh James (per the Bills) DE Mike Love (per the Bills) TE Nick O’Leary (per the Bills) WR Austin Proehl (per the Bills) P Jon Ryan (per the Bills) WR Rod Streater (per the Bills) LB Corey Thompson (per the Bills) CB Levi Wallace (per the Bills) T De’Ondre Wesley (per the Bills) LB Xavier Woodson-Luster (per the Bills) Players who made the roster: WR Ray-Ray McCloud III (per NFL Draft Diamonds) S Siran Neal (per NFL Draft Diamonds) DE Eddie Yarbrough (per Nick Wojton) WR Robert Foster (per Matthew Fairburn) WR Jeremy Kerley (per Ryan Talbot) CB Lafayette Pitts (per Joe Buscaglia)<doc-sep>Saturday at around 4 p.m ET marked an important moment in the NFL season. Teams were required to submit their final 53-man roster to the league after spending the last several weeks with 90 players. It’s a big deal for most teams to cut players but since last season, teams are now doing it all in one day. The NFL believes it allows teams to see a larger sample size of players before making the decision to keep or release them. For the Buffalo Bills, the decision loomed large of late. The Bills had multiple position battles going on throughout camp and it was really anyone’s guess as to who would win and who would lose. Below is Buffalo’s official list of transactions for the day, which includes the team’s trade with the Oakland Raiders for a 2019 fifth-round pick in exchange for quarterback AJ McCarron. We’ve released 34 players from the roster. More info on our moves: https://t.co/4Ll4OAWyEI pic.twitter.com/97PnO9iDkw — Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) September 1, 2018 Some of the bigger names the Bills moved on from are those who can catch the ball, one of Buffalo’s shallowest areas. The team released a slew of receivers, including Corey Coleman and Rod Streater as well as tight end Nick O’Leary, the Bills’ former sixth-round pick who has played for the team each of the last three seasons. Another battle was settled today as Buffalo also released punter Jon Ryan, who they signed about a week and a half ago. Rounding out notable releases are linebacker and 2017 sixth-round pick Tanner Vallejo, running back Travares Cadet, and wide receiver and fan-favorite Brandon Reilly, who will reportedly not be joining the Bills’ practice squad as of now. Reilly’s release opens the door for rookie wide receivers Ray-Ray McCloud and Robert Foster, who each will stay with Buffalo. The Bills Wire will continue our updates as players are signed to the practice squad.<doc-sep>After tonight’s fourth and final preseason game the Buffalo Bills will begin forming their 53-man roster to open the 2018 season. With Saturday’s 4:00 p.m. 53-man roster deadline the Buffalo Bills will have less than 48 hours to decide who they will keep and who they will cut heading into Week 1 in Baltimore. While it is still possible (if not likely) that the Bills roster will change after the deadline as other teams cut players that the Bills may be interested in adding, the initial 53-man roster cut may be met with some surprises. While a good portion of the Bills 53-man roster is essentially set in stone, another part of it is still up for grabs. Some of these spots will ultimately be decided by who stands out in tonight’s preseason finale. Most of these fringe roster players will get extended playing time in tonight’s game and a good showing may go a long way in helping them secure a spot on the 53-man roster. Other Bills players could be surprised to find themselves on the wrong end of the cut line come Saturday evening. These cuts could be done for a variety of reasons, but all of them would either have been a surprise before the preseason started, or even still a surprise to some all together. Let’s take a look at three Bills who would be surprise roster cuts: TE Charles Clay While it may be unlikely that the Bills cut Charles Clay, it is certainly not out of the question. Since signing with the Bills, Clay has never come close to living up to the contract that he signed. While some of that may be out of his control due to not ever being matched up with a legitimate passing quarterback, the fact remains that Clay is highly overpaid. If the Bills were to cut Clay they would be saddled with a dead cap hit that is equal to his salary for the 2018 season. This means that the would essentially be paying him to not be on the roster. However, if the Bills would rather keep one of their younger and cheaper tight ends with an eye toward the future then this may be worth the dead cap hit for the Bills. Clay has been virtually invisible in the preseason and when you have heard his name it has more than likely been due to a dropped pass. Will Charles Clay be cut? Probably not but it’s certainly not out of the question. WR Corey Coleman The Bills traded for Coleman early in training camp for what was essentially nothing. The Bills gave up a seventh-round pick two years from now for Coleman. Since arriving in Buffalo, Coleman has done virtually nothing to separate himself from the rest of the wide receiver pack on the Bills roster. While Coleman is a former first-round pick and is blessed with blazing speed, his work ethic and dedication to football have been a question since he was drafted by the Browns. Coleman was brought to Buffalo to give him a fresh start and see if he could maximize his potential in a new surrounding. He has yet to impress. Coleman will be given every opportunity under the sun to make a case to stick to the roster tonight in the preseason finale, and if he does he can probably be considered safe to make the roster. However, if he fails to produce yet again he may find himself on the outside looking in. The Bills may elect to cut him in favor of one of their own draft picks like Ray-Ray McCloud or players that they have tutored on the practice squad over the past year like Brandon Reilly. Heading into tonight’s game it is 50/50 as to whether Coleman makes the roster. DT Adolphus Washington Washington was a third-round pick by the Bills’ previous regime of Rex Ryan and Doug Whaley. Washington has not done very much since that fateful day. When you add that to the fact that Washington is far from an ideal match with the Bills defensive philosophy it has been no wonder why the Bills have been rumored to potentially cut Washington heading back to training camp last season. Washington has done little to stand out during preseason this year either and he may find himself cut as a result. If another defensive tackle has a standout performance in tonight’s preseason finale it may push Washington over the brink of the cut line. Washington is also a candidate to make the initial 53-man roster only to be cut shortly after when the Bills scan the waiver wire and find a better scheme fit in a player that was released by another team. Heading into tonight’s game it is not looking very good for Washington. Some fans might think that the fringe, bottom of the 53-man roster players are not all that important, but that is far from the truth. These players are often counted on in emergency situations due to injury, or can even surprise with a big performance in a regular season game if given the opportunity. Want your voice heard? Join the BuffaLowDown team! Write for us! While Bills fans might not be sweating out who makes the final 53-man roster and who the surprise cuts may be, Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott are as they continue to reshape the Bills roster in their image.<doc-sep>
The Buffalo Bills 26-13 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday afternoon has added more complexity to the team’s depth chart. The Bills starters were soundly handled by the Bengals first-team units on offense and defense. Several depth players played well in the second half, but many of these bubble players may not have had a strong enough game to differentiate themselves from others. For now, the bubble is still in place and it will burst next week. The fourth preseason game will be big for a few players. Here’s how the Bills 53-man roster projects after their third preseason game: OFFENSE Quarterback – 3 In: Nathan Peterman, Josh Allen, AJ McCarron Out: N/A Allen has the talent, Peterman has the productivity, and McCarron is, well, injured. McCarron will be given one more shot during the fourth game of the preseason to show if he can guide the offense consistently. Peterman has completed 80.5-percent of his preseason passes and averaged 10.5 yards per attempt. Placing Allen behind an offensive line is a scary proposition, so it behooves the team to have a couple of guys as a buffer until the line gets its pass blocking squared away. A weak game by McCarron in the final preseason game could shift this view, though. For now, let’s keep three quarterbacks. You can pick the order. Running Back – 4 In: LeSean McCoy, Chris Ivory, Marcus Murphy, Taiwan Jones Out: Travaris Cadet, Keith Ford Murphy has played his way onto the team, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him earn some additional snaps throughout the season. Ivory has been a pleasant surprise in his brief time on the field. McCoy will garner most of the touches on the offense. The final spot will be for a special teams player, and Jones gets the nod. Fullback – 1 In: Patrick DiMarco Out: Sam Rogers DiMarco is a big part of the blocking game for the Bills. He’s the only one the team needs at the position. Wide receiver – 6 In: Kelvin Benjamin, Zay Jones, Jeremy Kerley, Corey Coleman, Andre Holmes, Brandon Reilly Out: Rod Streater, Ray-Ray McCloud III, Austin Proehl, Malachi Dupre, Cam Phillips, Robert Foster, Kaelin Clay This unit is still working itself out. Benjamin, Jones, and Kerley are the definites. After that trio, it gets a bit murky. Coleman sticks around, as the team will need more time to evaluate him. Holmes will make the team by virtue of his special teams work. The final spot will slide to Reilly at this point. Streater is a solid veteran, but the Bills have enough special teams players on this roster. McCloud will be a candidate for the practice squad. Tight ends – 4 In: Charles Clay, Logan Thomas, Jason Croom, Nick O’Leary Out: Keith Towbridge, Khari Lee The tight ends will be valuable in this offense. All four have made plays during the preseason. Lee is a solid blocker, but with the emergence of Croom, it looks like the Tennesee product is filling that final tight end spot. Offensive tackle – 3 In: Dion Dawkins, Jordan Mills, Marshall Newhouse, Out: Mo Porter, Gerhard de Beer, Josh James, Conor McDermott, De’Ondre Wesley The team will most likely keep these veterans around, although we saw what happened when Dawkins was unavailable to play. Newhouse will be a placeholder in case of injury. Wesley can play guard and tackle but will find himself out in the numbers’ game. Interior offensive line – 5 In: Russell Bodine, Ryan Groy, Vlad Ducasse, John Miller, Wyatt Teller, Out: Adam Redmond, Ike Boettger Ultimately, it’ll probably be Groy flanked by Ducasse and Miller on the inside of the line. They have done well with run blocking, but the unit got smoked in pass protection this week. Boettger has some flexibility on the line, but he will need help from somewhere else on this roster if the Bills are to carry a ninth lineman.