Buffalo Bills All Set! Initial 53-Man Roster

The Buffalo Bills’ initial 53-man roster is set, and a few of Sunday’s decisions stood out. On offense, the Bills opted to keep just five wide receivers, releasing veteran Trent Sherfield despite his value as a blocker and special teams contributor. They also moved away from a traditional fullback role by cutting Ben VanSumeren and keeping a fourth tight end, Keleki Latu. The offensive line featured two rookie success stories. Draft picks Jude Bowry and Ar’Maj Reed-Adams earned roster spots, while former draft picks Nick Broeker and Chase Lundt were released and Sedrick Van Pran-Granger was traded to Indianapolis.

Defensively, Buffalo kept extra depth in the trenches. Both Javon Solomon and Mike Danna made the roster at outside linebacker, and both Greg Gaines and DeWayne Carter survived cutdown day on the interior defensive line. Those decisions suggest the Bills weren’t interested in sacrificing depth up front as they finalized the roster ahead of Week 1.

The roster is unlikely to remain unchanged. Waiver claims will be processed Monday, and Brandon Beane has shown before that the initial 53 is often just the beginning of the roster-building process.

The Bills announced their complete list of transactions, and beyond the 13 moves they made Saturday, this is who they moved on from Sunday, at least for now, in alphabetical order:

Guard Nick Broeker, quarterback Shane Buechele, linebacker Jimmy Ciarlo, defensive lineman Travis Clayton, cornerback Te’Cory Couch, running back Frank Gore Jr., wide receiver Stephen Gosnell, linebacker Keonta Jenkins, linebacker Andre Jones, cornerback Anthony Kendall, offensive lineman Chase Lundt, wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin, cornerback Toriano Pride Jr., wide receiver Trent Sherfield, safety Geno Stone, wide receiver Max Tomczak, fullback Ben Van Sumeren, cornerback Kani Walker, guard Da’Metrious Weatherspoon, running back Ian Wheeler and punter Mitch Wishnowsky.

Additionally, they announced that rookie defensive lineman Zane Durant is going on injured reserve, wide receiver Tyrell Shavers is starting the season on the physically unable to perform list, and defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis is on the reserve/suspended list for the first three weeks.

The release of Sherfield means the Bills are starting the season with five receivers on the roster and will hope to get Shavers back in the fold at some point around midseason. Sherfield may be a candidate for the practice squad, same as Ja’Mori Maclin.

Defensive tackles Greg Gaines and DeWayne Carter both made the team because of Durant going on IR. Had that not happened, it was likely that Carter would have been released. The release of Walker leaves on three true boundary corners on the roster, so someone on the present 53-man roster might not want to get too comfortable because the Bills will probably look to add a veteran.

Source: Democrat And Chronicle