The dog days are over. The Buffalo Bills have arrived at training camp at St. John Fisher and the 2025 NFL season is officially underway (if camp kick off is your barometer for that sort of thing).
The news and observations are set to come fast and furious at fans over the next few weeks as our roster projections, conscious or subconscious, start to formulate. Who’s gonna make the team? Will there be any surprise cuts?
We all know full well that with a team that’s as good as the Bills have been, the actual
roster decisions that need to be made are typically less than can be counted on two hands.However, these players can end up making a play or two that alter the course of a season. Quarterback/Wide Receiver/Swiss Army knife former Bill Joe Webb played a big part in helping the Bills end the drought in 2017. The Baccari Rambo Game helped give the Bills a victory over Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in a year that needed something positive.
So the fans rightfully care, and we’ll rightfully project. With that, here’s my first 53-man roster projection of 2025...
Quarterback (2)
- Josh Allen
- Mike White
Any tie goes to the cheaper guy. The Bills can save $2.5 million on the 2025 cap while incurring $750,000 in dead cap by releasing Mitchell Trubisky, who will need to notably outplay White this summer to keep a hold of the QB2 spot.
Running Back (4)
- James Cook
- Ray Davis
- Ty Johnson
- Reggie Gilliam
As cut and dry as cut and dry gets. The Bills’ backfield group was one of the most efficient in football last year and if it ain’t broke, they won’t look to fix it.
Wide Receiver (6)
- Joshua Palmer
- Khalil Shakir
- Keon Coleman
- Curtis Samuel
- Elijah Moore
- Laviska Shenault, Jr.
Shenault makes the team here as a return man in place of Brandon Codrington. Codrington, who the Bills acquired late last summer in a trade with the New York Jets, performed well in the return role last year but wasn’t trusted to play an actual scrimmage position. Shenault having at least tangential value as a receiver gives him the nod in this projection.
Tight End (3)
- Dalton Kincaid
- Dawson Knox
- Jackson Hawes
Like the running back room, no surprises here. As a rookie Day 3 pick, Hawes was tailor-made for the TE3 role here in Buffalo as one of the best blocking tight ends in the draft. He has a clear role ahead of him.
Offensive Line (10)
- Dion Dawkins
- David Edwards
- Connor McGovern
- O’Cyrus Torrence
- Spencer Brown
- Alec Anderson
- Sedrick Van Pran-Granger
- Tylan Grable
- Ryan Van Demark
- Kendrick Green
Kendrick Green makes the team here as depth on the interior offensive line, but he could be on the hot seat when defensive linemen Larry Ogunjobi and Michael Hoecht return from their six-game suspensions — depending on what else shakes out on the defensive line in their absence.
Defensive Line (9)*
- Greg Rousseau
- DaQuan Jones
- Ed Oliver
- Joey Bosa
- T.J. Sanders
- A.J. Epenesa
- Landon Jackson
- Deone Walker
- Dewayne Carter
Hoecht and Ogunjobi’s suspensions clear up this picture for now. Dewayne Carter’s transition to one-tech defensive tackle this offseason might be a story to watch in combination with the T.J. Sanders usage when preparing for life after Hoecht and Ogunjobi’s returns.
Linebacker (6)
- Terrel Bernard
- Matt Milano
- Dorian Williams
- Joe Andreessen
- Shaq Thompson
- Edefuan Ulofoshio
Shaq Thompson, Ede Ulofoshio, and Baylon Spector likely find themselves fighting for two jobs. Ultimately, I went with Ulofoshio due to a potential special teams edge over Spector and Thompson for an edge in scrimmage play. Being a master of neither leaves Spector the odd man out here.
Defensive Backs (10)
- Christian Benford
- Maxwell Hairston
- Taron Johnson
- Dorian Strong
- Tre’Davious White
- Cole Bishop
- Taylor Rapp
- Damar Hamlin
- Jordan Hancock
- Darrick Forrest
Tre’Davious White and Darrick Forrest might be two other beneficiaries of the Hoecht/Ogunjobi suspensions who may find themselves on the outside looking in after those suspensions end, but keep an eye out for Jordan Hancock’s usage during the summer; his positional role could have a lot of impact of which, if any, of the defensive backs find themselves on the chopping block when roster spots come calling. The Bills are hanging onto hope that Ja’Marcus Ingram can be passed through to the practice squad here.
Specialists (3)
- Reid Ferguson
- Brad Robbins
- Tyler Bass
Robbins wins by default here with One Bills Drive having released Jake Camarda. Both of them are 26 years old and were drafted punters (a rarity in a punting competition). Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor was present in his current position for the signing of Robbins.
*Suspended to start the season - Michael Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi
...and that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I’m Bruce Nolan with Buffalo Rumblings. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @BruceExclusive and look for new episodes of “The Bruce Exclusive” every Thursday on the Rumblings Cast Network — see more in my LinkTree!
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