Buffalo Bills practice squad takes shape, Isabella returns as one of four wide receivers

The bulk of the Buffalo Bills’ initial practice squad roster was predictable as all 14 players that were officially announced were with the team in training camp and the preseason.

The other two available spots, general manager Brandon Beane said Wednesday afternoon, are expected to be filled by a pair of outsiders.

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Assuming he passes his physical, which had not happened when Beane met with reporters, is middle linebacker Christian Kirksey.

“He’s agreed to come here but he’s in the process, physical and all that stuff, so he’s not signed yet,” Beane said.

The other is a quarterback, but Beane said while the wheels are in motion to sign someone, it probably won’t get done until Thursday.

Here is the list of 14 players the team confirmed:

• RB Ty Johnson

• WR Tyrell Shavers

• WR Andy Isabella

• WR Marcell Ateman

• WR Bryan Thompson

• TE Joel Wilson

• OL Richard Gouraige

• OL Kevin Jarvis

• OL Greg Mancz

• DT Eli Ankou

• DT Kendal Vickers

• DE Kameron Cline

• CB Ja’Marcus Ingram

• CB Kyron Brown

Beane also announced 53-man roster moves that were expected. Wide receiver Justin Shorter and linebacker Baylon Spector are both going on the injured reserve list and their roster spots will be filled by long snapper Reid Ferguson and offensive tackle Germain Ifedi.

Ferguson was released Tuesday so that the Bills could get an extra player on their roster with the agreement that he would re-sign as soon as the IR moves were made. Ifedi was signed Wednesday to provide veteran depth behind starters Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown.

Unless the Bills plan to carry 10 offensive linemen, Idefi’s presence means Ryan Van Demark or Alec Anderson - two young tackles who made the initial 53-man roster - might be pushed to the practice squad where both would be potential candidates to be poached by other teams.

Ifedi has made 83 NFL starts in seven seasons with the Seahawks and Bears, then moved to the Falcons last year and could not get onto the field, dressing for all 17 games but playing only eight snaps because Atlanta’s starting tackles stayed healthy all season.

Outside of Kirksey, the most interesting name on the practice squad is Isabella.

Meet the 2023 Buffalo Bills: Here is the 53-man roster

Though he didn’t show a whole lot in the preseason games as a receiver or return man, Isabella earned respect in the locker room for his diligent work in learning the playbook after he joined the team right at the start of training camp at St. John Fisher University. He obviously felt that rather than starting from scratch elsewhere, Buffalo was the logical place to be.

“Very impressed with Andy and what he did to come in when he did,” Beane said. “To start training camp and to learn this playbook and to be able to work his way up to some reps with the 1’s, that said a lot about what how we saw in him and how the coaches and everyone in the building saw him work.

“He’s a good player and we’re just going to continue to work him in our system. We were glad to get him back. He said some positive things yesterday when Sean and I sat down with him to let him know we didn’t have a spot right now on the 53. But we think he can play and we think as this year goes on, he’ll help us.”

With Shorter on IR, Isabella could be a consideration for a practice squad call up in the first few weeks if the Bills believe he can offer more in a particular matchup than Khalil Shakir.

Teams can call players up a maximum of three times, and then they have to put the player on the 53-man roster or leave him on the practice squad the rest of the year.

If the Kirksey signing becomes official, that is clearly a sign that the Bills are a little wary of their middle linebacker situation. They always knew replacing Tremaine Edmunds would be difficult, but Tyrel Dodson, A.J. Klein, Terrel Bernard and Baylon Spector did not leap ahead and win the job outright.

Kirksey is a nine-year veteran who was waived in a somewhat surprising move by the Texans. The 2014 third-round pick of the Browns, who turns 31 Thursday, spent six seasons in Cleveland, one in Green Bay and the last two with Houston, totaling 778 tackles, 16.5 sacks, seven interceptions, four forced fumbles and six recoveries.

In 2022 he started all 17 games for Houston and was third on the team with 124 tackles, the third-best total of his career and highest since 2017 when he had 138 for the Browns.

As of Wednesday afternoon five former Bills have found new homes and that’s what happens when you have a Super Bowl-contending team. Other teams around the league are going to pay attention to the players you send into the open market.

The Vikings signed offensive tackle David Quessenberry to their 53-man roster, pending a physical; the Texans made waiver claims on both of Buffalo’s 2023 seventh-round draft picks, cornerback Alex Austin and offensive lineman Nick Broeker; the Packers claimed defensive back Zayne Anderson; and the Saints grabbed running back Jordan Mims.

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana and on Threads @salmaiorana1. To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which will come out every Friday during training camp, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills practice squad 2023: Here's who has signed