The Buffalo Bills often throw darts at versatile, athletic offensive line prospects late in drafts to see if they can find a player who can develop over the long term. This has been the case for as long as general manager Brandon Beane has been with the club, as it’s clear that he values keeping a stable of athletic, versatile offensive linemen. Some of those players make the team, some are flipped for draft capital, and others move on to other clubs.
Sometimes, those players move elsewhere before
returning home to Buffalo. In today’s installment of “91 players in 91 days,” we discuss a player who was originally drafted by the Bills, but has not played any regular-season games with the club that drafted him. _____________________________________________________________________________
Name: Nick Broeker
Number: 65
Position: G
Height/Weight: 6’4” 305 lbs.
Age: 25 (26 on 10/7/2026)
Experience/Draft: 3; selected by Buffalo in the seventh round (No. 230 overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft
College: Mississippi
Acquired: Signed reserve/future deal with Buffalo on 1/13/2026
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Broeker’s one-year contract is worth a total of $1.08 million. That’s also the cap hit Buffalo will carry if he makes the 53-man roster. Buffalo will carry just a $5,000 dead-cap charge, the total sum of Broeker’s signing bonus, if they choose to release him.
2025 Recap: Broeker bounced around quite a bit last year after spending the 2023 and 2024 regular seasons with the Houston Texans. Houston let him go early in May, and Broeker signed a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers on May 21. Pittsburgh released him prior to the preseason opener, and he was claimed off waivers by the Dallas Cowboys on August 8. He played in two preseason contests for Dallas, but was ultimately released by the team on August 25. He was a free agent until September 25, when he signed with Buffalo’s practice squad. He was not called up for any games before being released on December 9. Subsequently, he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad on December 16, which is where he remained until Kansas City’s season came to a close at the end of the 2025 regular season. He signed a reserve/futures contract with Buffalo on January 13.
Positional outlook: Broeker is one of quite a few interior offensive linemen vying for a spot on the roster this season. The other players listed exclusively at guard are Ar’maj Reed-Adamns and O’Cyrus Torrence. Jude Bowry and Tylan Grable are listed at tackle/guard, while Austin Corbett, Connor McGovern, Alec Anderson, and Sedrick Van Pran-Granger are listed at center/guard.
2026 Offseason: Broeker is healthy and participating in OTAs.
2026 Season outlook: Broeker has 12 games of pro experience, albeit in mostly a special teams role that could generously be described as limited. He totaled just nine snaps on offense and 53 snaps on special teams across those 12 games and two seasons in Houston, so his experience isn’t likely to move the needle much as it relates to him making the roster over some of his less-experienced counterparts. Additionally, Broeker is a guard who doesn’t play anywhere else, which will put him behind the eight-ball as it relates to making the 53-man roster as a reserve given how much the Bills value positional versatility in their reserve offensive linemen.
Broeker is a good camp body, but he’s likely nothing more than that unless a slew of injuries occur ahead of him. He’s likely fighting for a spot on the practice squad this summer.
