ORCHARD PARK - Buffalo Bills coach Joe Brady said the competition to be Josh Allen’s backup quarterback is still ongoing, but based on how Kyle Allen’s summer has gone, it feels like the job is his.
Although he was certainly a little ragged during the St. John Fisher University portion of training camp, he has settled in since then and in the first two preseason games, Allen has probably been better than Brady could have hoped for.
“You are going to see both of them on Thursday,” Brady said of Allen and Shane Buechele who will share QB duties in the preseason finale at Highmark Stadium against the Pittsburgh Steelers. “I think both of them played really good football and I have such confidence calling the game with them. I've been with them for
a while, too, and that makes my life a lot easier.”
Allen has completed 24 of 28 passes for 236 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He led three drives in the opener against Carolina, one of which was abbreviated as it began with 29 seconds left in the first half, one that resulted in a Tyler Bass field goal and another that ended with a Bass miss.
In Cleveland, he played the entire first half and produced a pair of touchdowns in five possessions (the others ended in punts).
“I think it's been good experience for me,” Allen said. “The games have been great learning experiences. Good to get out there and try it with live bullets. You don't play for a year and it's always interesting to get back out there and see what you got.”
If history is any indication, and the Bills are knocking on wood as hard as they can, Buffalo’s backup quarterback won’t be playing outside of blowout games and/or a late-season rest-the-starters situation if the Bills have their playoff seed finalized.
The last couple years, Mitch Trubisky provided nice insurance just in case Josh Allen were to get hurt, but the superstar hasn’t missed a game since midway through 2018. There has been a feeling ever since Trubisky departed in free agency that this year, more than ever, Josh needs to continue to be indestructible because Kyle isn’t as trusted as Trubisky, but he has quelled some of those fears in the past couple weeks.
“I think both of them have gone out there and led us down the field and made really sound decisions, played clean football,” Brady said. “I don't need them to be Josh Allen, I need them to play within the system and they've both done a really good job with that.”
The Bills have one final preseason game Thursday against the Steelers before Sunday's cutdown day, and several roster decisions remain unsettled. Here's a look at the key position battles still in play:
Wide receiver: Fight for last spot is fierce
Skyler Bell, the rookie fourth-round pick, will make his game debut against the Steelers after missing the first two with an injury. He’s going to make the team, but he’ll really need to open some eyes in this game and in the nearly two weeks of practice still to come leading to the opener if he hopes to get a game day jersey in Houston.
If the Bills keep six receivers, the last spot will feature Trent Sherfield, Mecole Hardman, Stephen Gosnell, Dante Pettis and Ja’Mori Maclin in competition.
Sherfield’s veteran presence and core special team ability gives him an advantage over everyone else. Hardman is still in the running to be the punt returner and he can be occasionally dangerous as a gadget wide receiver. Pettis has also returned punts but his chances seem slim. Same for Maclin and Gosnell, but they will both be priority practice squad signees.
Offensive line: There aren’t great backup options
Reports surfaced Tuesday that Alec Anderson has already been informed that he will be the starting left guard, and that rounds out a strong starting five. If true, now the discussion becomes who fills out the reserve jobs on the offensive line?
Anderson was competing head-to-head with Austin Corbett, so does this mean Corbett will become the swing guard? It seems like Lloyd Cushenberry is a lock at backup center, so what does that mean for 2024 fifth-round pick Sedrick Van Pran-Granger who is primarily a center and really hasn’t been considered at guard? And what about 2026 rookie seventh-round pick Ar’Maj Reed-Adams, who is working solely as a guard, and 2025 sixth-round pick Chase Lundt who has been moved from tackle to guard?
Rookie Jude Bowry’s injury may have handed the swing tackle position to Tylan Grable, though Grable has a lot to prove because he can’t stay healthy and has hardly played in his two NFL seasons. Bowry is currently in a walking boot after getting hurt in Cleveland, so that might be an easy injured reserve decision for the Bills because he was struggling and probably isn’t ready to have a 53-man roster spot so he can sit out the year and continue his development next season.
Interior defensive line: Is DeWayne Carter in trouble?
Perhaps the most fascinating position group is the three-man interior unit because the Bills have invested heavily through the draft, and they want those players to succeed.
In addition to veteran Ed Oliver who is the longest-tenured linemen, DeWayne Carter (2024), Deone Walker, Landon Jackson, and TJ Sanders (2025) and rookie Zane Durant are all recent vintage Bills’ draft picks. But the signing last week of Greg Gaines, an experienced nose tackle with 108 games of NFL experience, might have put Carter in the cross hairs. If the Bills keep six linemen, Carter would seem to be the odd man out.
Also, what will the Bills do with Zion Logue and Phidarian Mathis who have produced some good reps this summer? Mathis has to miss the first three games due to a substance abuse violation, but when he returns, is there a spot on the 53-man roster for him? Again, the signing of Gaines might mean Mathis, Logue and possibly Carter get cut and if they don’t sign elsewhere, perhaps the Bills could bring one or two of them back to the practice squad.
Outside linebacker: Strongest position on the team?
Upgrading the pass rush was an offseason priority and this group has a chance to be very good with starters Greg Rousseau and Bradley Chubb, and second wave options Michael Hoecht and rookie second-round pick TJ Parker.
But the Bills also have third-year player Javon Solomon who is a key special teamer, and veteran free agent signee Mike Danna, the former two-time Super Bowl winner with the Chiefs who has flashed in the preseason games. If the Bills keep five, that last spot comes down to Solomon and Danna. Do they keep the young guy who plays special teams, or the veteran with pedigree at the position?
Inside linebacker: Does Buffalo Joe survive?
Joe Andreessen has obviously been a fan favorite because he hails from Lancaster and has been on the team the past two years, but right now, he’s neck and neck with Keonta Jenkins in the battle to be the backup to Terrel Bernard.
If the Bills keep five, then Andreessen probably joins Bernard, Jenkins, Dorian Williams and rookie fourth-round pick Kaleb Elarms-Orr. But more interesting than that is whether Elarms-Orr can win the starting job ahead of Williams, and given how the summer has gone, that’s certainly a possibility.
Cornerback: This could be the weak link
As far back as OTAs it has felt like the Bills are in need of a veteran free agent corner to provide insurance behind all the youth at this position. Christian Benford is locked in, but CB2 is still an open competition between Max Hairston and rookie second-round pick Davison Igbinosun, and no matter who wins, the backup is inexperienced.
As for the fourth boundary corner, right now it might be undrafted rookie Kani Walker, so yeah, this position is screaming for a veteran. Slot CB Dee Alford could play on the outside if needed, and if that were needed the Bills could use versatile Jordan Hancock in the slot, but Hancock has been getting most of his reps at safety because that’s another position group that is unsettled.
“It’s still concerning to me, just the whole secondary, because it’s been limited snaps with everybody,” defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard said of the injury situation. “It’s always concerning when you’re not banking those reps with who you’d probably consider to be the starting group out there. They are going to make it fun to make these decisions going into the season on what the roles need to be.”
Safety: Time on task is needed
As Leonhard said, injuries at various points to Hairston, CJ Gardner-Johnson and Cole Bishop - three presumptive starters - has really created a dearth of continuity and that’s even more important this year as the Bills are learning a new defense. Rookie Jalon Kilgore, who was flashing early in camp, also missed valuable time in the past week and he may not be ready to contribute to the 53-man roster right away.
Damar Hamlin seems a shoe-in for one depth spot, but veteran free agent Geno Stone has not had a great preseason and could be on the chopping block, especially with Hancock playing well and seemingly ready to become the fourth safety, the likelihood that Kilgore makes the team as a 2026 draft pick, and Sam Franklin probably making it because he’s a core special teamer.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills position battles enter final act before cutdown day
