The Buffalo Bills’ initial 53-man roster was finalized Sunday and there were definitely a few surprising decisions.
The first thing that jumped off the list of transactions the team announced is that Joe Brady kept only five wide receivers, opting to release Trent Sherfield even though it seemed like he would be the replacement until Tyrell Shavers is able to rejoin the team, perhaps at midseason.
Brady will go without a fullback as Ben VanSumeren was cut, his roster spot taken by a fourth tight end, Keleki Latu.
Up front on the offensive line, two rookie draft picks - Jude Bowry and Ar’Maj Reed-Adams - made the team over past draft picks Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (who was traded to the Colts), Nick Broeker and Chase Lundt.
On defense, six outside
linebackers made the team as both Javon Solomon and Mike Danna survived when it seemed all along like only one of them would. Same at interior defensive line as both Greg Gaines and DeWayne Carter were kept.
And only three true boundary cornerbacks made the team - Christian Benford, Max Hairston and Davison Igbinosun - so that’s a position that appears to be screaming for a veteran reinforcement.
Here’s how the initial 53-man roster looks:
- QB: Josh Allen, Kyle Allen;
- RB: James Cook, Ty Johnson, Ray Davis;
- WR: DJ Moore, Joshua Palmer, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Skyler Bell;
- TE: Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox, Jackson Hawes, Keleki Latu;
- IOL: Connor McGovern, O’Cyrus Torrence, Alec Anderson, Lloyd Cushenberry, Austin Corbett, Ar’Maj Reed-Adams;
- OT: Dion Dawkins, Spencer Brown, Tylan Grable, Jude Bowry;
- OLB: Greg Rousseau, Bradley Chubb, Michael Hoecht, TJ Parker, Javon Solomon, Mike Danna;
- DL: Ed Oliver, Deone Walker, TJ Sanders, Landon Jackson, Greg Gaines, DeWayne Carter;
- ILB: Terrel Bernard, Dorian Williams, Kaleb Elarms-Orr, Joe Andreessen;
- CB: Christian Benford, Max Hairston, Dee Alford, Davison Igbinosun, Jordan Hancock;
- S: CJ Gardner-Johnson, Cole Bishop, Damar Hamlin, Jalon Kilgore, Sam Franklin;
- ST: Tyler Bass (K), Tommy Doman (P), Reid Ferguson (LS).
Here are a few observations:
Trent Sherfield was a surprise cut
I thought he did enough to make the roster as the sixth wide receiver for several reasons. He can make plays as a receiver, he blocks well in the run game, and he can play all the special teams.
But rookie Skyler Bell’s performance in his lone preseason game last Thursday against the Steelers may have convinced the Bills they could get by with five wide receivers. That made both Mecole Hardman and Dante Pettis - who had been punt return candidates - expendable, and the same for Sherfield.
Sherfield should be a priority re-sign to the practice squad if he doesn’t get claimed by another team because he’d be an ideal elevation player if Bell struggles in the early going. It’s possible Hardman or Pettis also get brought back to the practice squad.
Trading Van Pran-Granger was the wise move
Now in his third season with the Bills, it just wasn’t happening for the 2024 fifth-round pick. He was blocked by Connor McGovern who rarely misses playing time, and he doesn’t have versatility to play anywhere else on the line.
The fact that Beane was able to ship him off to the Colts along with a seventh-round pick in 2027 and get back a 2027 sixth-rounder was good business. The alternative was cutting him and getting nothing in return.
Van Pran-Granger started the two meaningless season finales in 2024 and 2025, and maybe a change of scenery does him some good, though he’s going to Indy to once again be a backup.
His roster spot felt tenuous since Aug. 8 when McGovern hurt his hamstring and Lloyd Cushenberry was given just about every rep with the starting offensive line. Cushenberry has 80 NFL games of experience with the Broncos and Titans, and with protecting Josh Allen being the utmost priority, the Bills are clearly more comfortable with Cushenberry in case McGovern isn’t ready for Week 1.
Kani Walker had to be disappointed
The undrafted rookie out of Arkansas seemed to do more than enough to win the fourth boundary cornerback spot. In fact, he may have done enough whereby another team looking at his tape may decide to give him a chance, though I do believe he’ll end up back on the Bills’ practice squad.
Walker has the size at 6-foot-2 and 203 pounds to be an imposing corner, and he showed some playmaking ability in the preseason games, though he did struggle in the joint practice against the Browns.
I think the issue the Bills were confronted with was too much inexperience at such an important position, and I have to believe they’re going to sign a veteran off the waiver wire in the next day or two. It’s too much of a risk to go into a season with unproven second-year man Hairston and rookie Igbinosun. It has felt all summer that it would come to this, but now we’ll see what Brandon Beane does.
Two rookie offensive linemen make it
When fifth-round pick Jude Bowry got hurt in Cleveland, it seemed like it would be a blessing in disguise for the Bills because it gave them an excuse to put Bowry - who was struggling badly - on injured reserve and let him marinate for a year. Of course, if the Bills adjust the roster, Bowry could still be an IR candidate, we just don’t know how significant his injury is.
If he is able to play, the Bills had to keep him on the roster because if they waived him, he’d likely get signed. Now it’s on him to keep battling Tylan Grable for a game day jersey as the swing tackle.
Reed-Adams, a seventh-round pick, began the summer as a true longshot but he was very good in the three games and played his way onto the roster, though it’s highly unlikely he’ll be active more than a couple times unless the Bills suffer injuries up front.
DeWayne Carter, Mike Danna survive
It was tough to see a path for either player to make the team, but here they are, at least for now.
Danna, signed away from the Chiefs as a free agent, had a very good preseason as the outside linebacker had two sacks and seven QB pressures, but the consensus was that the Bills would only keep five at the position and Solomon was the better use of that fifth spot because he’s a core special teamer. However, both made the team.
As for Carter, his fate seemed determined when the Bills signed Gaines a couple weeks ago, and when Carter played to the very end of the Steelers games, it felt like the 2024 third-round pick was gone.
However, Durant suffered an injury in that game and he was placed on the short term injured reserve list, meaning he can return after sitting out four games. Also, Phidarian Mathis is out the first three games due to a substance abuse policy violation. If either of those two players get activated, Carter could be the player they replace.
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 made some surprising calls on initial 53-man roster
