Buffalo Bills cuts 2023 tracker: Initial roster set after cut deadline passes
When I published my 53-man Buffalo Bills roster projection Sunday, you likely noticed that there weren’t too many surprises.
That’s what happens when you are a three-time defending AFC East champion and a Super Bowl contender heading into the 2023 NFL season.
Still, there will be plenty of roster machinations on the back end that already began to take place Sunday and will continue through Monday and right up to the 4 p.m. Tuesday deadline.
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Two defensive linemen released
Kendal Vickers and D.J. Dale are the latest cuts by the Bills. Vickers spent parts of the last three seasons with the Raiders and appeared in 25 games with two starts, making 20 tackles and two sacks.
Dale was a rookie undrafted free agent out of Alabama where he played four years and was part of the Crimson Tide’s 2020 national championship team. He is definitely a player the Bills would like to get back on the practice squad.
Wide receiver room continues to shrink
The latest reported moves by the Bills are the release of wide receiver KeeSean Johnson and linebacker Travin Howard. Again, neither of these comes as a surprise.
Johnson has three years of NFL experience with the Cardinals and Steelers and caught 36 passes for 360 yards and a touchdown between 2019-21. He was out of the league in 2022 and signed with the Bills as a free agent. He may get a look by other teams.
Howard was a seventh-round pick of the Rams who played parts of three seasons in Los Angeles and made 44 tackles. He was signed after the Bills invited him to participate in their rookie mini-camp/try out session in May.
Andy Isabella didn’t do enough
The wide receiver was a hot topic of conversation from the moment he joined the Bills early in training camp. After all, he was a former second-round draft pick of the Cardinals who many thought could be an ideal fit in the Bills’ offense as a slot receiver option.
However, Isabella really didn’t do much with the opportunities he was given on offense as he caught six passes for 63 yards, and more importantly, he did not stand out as a possible replacement for injured Nyheim Hines in the return game. That was his best chance to grab a roster spot but he wasn’t able to make any eye-catching plays, and he fumbled a punt against the Bears.
Isabella now becomes an unrestricted free agent so he’s free to sign with any team without going through waivers. There will probably be a team that gives him a shot, so his odds of getting back to the Bills’ practice squad probably aren’t great.
This news indicates that fifth-round rookie receiver Justin Shorter has made the roster and will be the sixth man on the depth chart. It also might indicate that Khalil Shakir’s injury is not a concern and the Bills believe he’ll be ready to go against the Jets.
Von Miller to start season on PUP list
Miller has been hinting all summer that he felt he would be ready to play in Week 1, but that never really seemed realistic and now, according to reports, it wasn’t.
The Bills are reportedly going to start Miller on the reserve/PUP list which means he will miss the first four games of the season. It always seemed like this would be the outcome when you consider that Miller suffered his torn ACL on Thanksgiving Day 2022, meaning only 10 months ago.
The season before, Tre’Davious White blew out his knee on Thanksgiving 2021 and didn’t return for a full year, the very day that Miller got hurt. Miller’s recovery had been reportedly progressing quicker than White’s, but this is the prudent move to make sure he’s truly ready to roll.
Miller can’t practice while he’s on the PUP list, so that means he might miss more than four games. He will need ramp up time whenever he comes off the list, so this could end up being at the bare minimum five games missed, and possibly more.
Edge rusher position further diluted
The trade of Boogie Basham has thinned out the ranks, and now it appears Kameron Cline will be waived, too. Cline played three seasons for the Colts, though he appeared in only five games between 2020-22.
He signed with Buffalo as a free agent after the Colts released him in the spring and it was thought he could provide competition for Basham and A.J. Epenesa, which he did. Cline was in on six tackles, had two sacks and also recovered a fumble.
Former UB standout will be cut
Cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram, who made an interception in the preseason game against the Bears, will be cut and, like so many of these players, is an option for the practice squad assuming he clears waivers.
Ingram began his college football career at Utah State, moved on to Texas Tech and then finished up at the University at Buffalo in 2021. Last year he signed with the Bills as an undrafted free agent, spent most of the year on the practice squad but did get into two games when the Bills had injury problems at cornerback.
Also, running back Jordan Mims is being released. Like Darrynton Evans, Mims had no chance to make the 53-man roster. Still on the team as of now is veteran running back Ty Johnson who was just signed as a free agent last week.
Two more young offensive linemen gone
Rookie seventh-round pick Nick Broeker and tackle Richard Gouraige will both be released. Broeker was a longshot to make the team for all the reasons Ike Boettger was. There were too many players who were just brought onto the team for him to create a spot.
Gouraige had some nice moments in the preseason, but he was clearly behind Ryan Van Demark and Alec Anderson as players who could make surprises pushes, which apparently both Van Demark and Anderson have done.
In terms of the practice squad, Broeker might be the more logical choice over Boettger because he’s younger, and doesn’t have the injury history. Gouraige, who was an undrafted rookie free agent, could be brought back to the practice squad.
Coaching staff favorite Ike Boettger released
Boettger has struggled to regain the form he showed before he suffered a torn Achilles tendon late in 2021. He missed almost all of 2022, getting playing time in one game.
This year, the Bills upgraded at guard as they brought in O’Cyrus Torrence in the draft, and Connor McGovern and David Edwards in free agency. Also, 2022 practice squad player Alec Anderson has been taking reps at guard throughout the preseason, and his versatility to also play tackle and center clearly outweighs what Boettger can provide.
Still, the Bills love Boettger because of his grit and work ethic, and he might find his way back to the practice squad.
More: Report: Buffalo Bills trade edge rusher to New York Giants
5 more players reportedly let go
Linebacker Eli Ankou, cornerback Kyron Brown, offensive lineman Greg Mancz, and wide receivers Tyrell Shavers and Marcell Ateman are all former Bills, for now.
Ankou has been with the Bills on and off since 2021, mostly on the practice squad, though he did play in five games during the 2021 season. Brown signed with the team early in training camp after cornerback Cameron Dantzler was released with an injury settlement.
Mancz is a ninth-year veteran who joined the Bills before the 2022 season but got into only one game. With the additions of O’Cyrus Torrence, Connor McGovern and David Edwards, he was a longshot to make the team at guard.
Both Shavers and Ateman opened some eyes in training camp as the Bills rolled out an impressive group of young receivers, but again, there just wasn’t any way they were cracking the final roster. One, or even both, could be possibilities for the practice squad. Ateman played in 19 games with the Raiders between 2018 and 2021.
RB Darrynton Evans, TE Joel Wilson released
Once again, two players who simply had no chance to make the roster, though each showed nicely in the preseason.
Evans made the best run of the Bills’ three games with his 35-yard tackle-breaking jaunt against his former team, the Bears. Evans was not able to make the team flight to Chicago and flew commercial to get to the game on time, but in the end it was all for naught. With James Cook, Damien Harris and Latavius Murray on the team, Evans wasn’t making it.
Likewise, with Dawson Knox, Dalton Kincaid and Quintin Morris ahead of Wilson, there was no spot. Wilson provided good competition for Morris, and that may have opened the eyes of the Bills to bring him back to the practice squad. He clearly outplayed free agent signing Jace Sternberger who was released on Sunday.
3 defensive backs reportedly being cut
The reports have begun to circulate around the league and in Buffalo, it looks as if safeties Dean Marlowe and Zayne Anderson and cornerback Alex Austin will be let go Tuesday. Neither of these moves are a surprise.
Marlowe is in his second stint with the Bills and he also played for Sean McDermott in Carolina so there’s history there. Marlowe is definitely a player the Bills may try to add back to their practice squad as a vested veteran. He does not have to go through waivers.
Austin was Buffalo’s seventh-round draft pick and he really had no path to the 53-man roster with six players ahead of him on the depth chart. However, he’s another player the Bills may try to bring back to the practice squad, though he will first have to go through waivers.
Anderson was signed as a free agent shortly after the end of the 2022 season after he had been released by the Chiefs. He had no path to the roster unless he really excelled on special teams, and that didn't happen. This is a player who I doubt the Bills will look to add to the practice squad.
Austin showed some skill in training camp and he could garner interest on the open market.
Buffalo Bills roster cuts: Key distinctions
There are a couple things to keep in mind as the names start showing up on the cut list. Not all cuts are the same, and a good number of those players will wind up back on the Bills’ 53-man roster or practice squad.
Players who have three or fewer vested years of NFL experience must go through thewaiver process and can be claimed by any team. Records in 2022 determine the priority order, meaning the Bears have the first crack at players on the waiver wire, while the Bills are 28th in line.
Released players with four or more vested years of experience instantly become free agents and can sign with any team.
That is a critical difference on cut day because the Bills may release a few four-year-plus veterans with a wink-wink agreement whereby if they don’t sign with another team, they will be brought back to Buffalo. Players who could be part of this roster manipulation include long snapper Reid Ferguson, edge rusher Shaq Lawson and linebacker A.J. Klein.
Take linebacker Baylon Spector’s roster spot, for instance. He is going to be out multiple weeks with a hamstring injury, so the Bills could put him on injured reserve right now and he’d miss the entire season. Or, they could keep him on the 53-man, cut Klein, and then after the waiver signing period expires at noon Wednesday, they could put Spector on IR meaning he would be eligible to return this season, then re-sign Klein in Spector’s roster spot.
The Bills did this last season when they kept injured wide receiver Marquez Stevenson on the initial roster, then signed punter Sam Martin and created the opening by putting Stevenson on IR. Last year, thirteen players who were cut came back to the Bills practice squad. The only players who signed elsewhere were defensive end Kingsley Jonathan, offensive tackle Luke Tenuta, and cornerback Nick McCloud.
- Sal Maiorana
Buffalo Bills cuts: No surprises early on
The Bills announced the release Sunday afternoon of six players who basically had no shot of making the team. They were:
Wide receivers Dezmon Patmon and Isaiah Coulter
Tight end Jace Sternberger
Linebacker DaShaun White
Defensive tackle Cortez Broughton
Offensive lineman Garrett McGhin
Safety Jared Mayden
Also, edge rusher Shane Ray, who suffered a hamstring injury in the Pittsburgh game, was released with an injury settlement. If he recovers sufficiently, there’s a chance the Bills would bring him back to the practice squad, though at 31 years old, there’s more of a chance that his days in Buffalo are done.
Coulter suffered a knee injury early in training camp and was never a factor, while Patmon made some plays in camp, but not nearly enough to crack the Bills’ top seven.
Sternberger was a 2019 third-round pick of the Packers but never worked out in Green Bay and he was most recently playing in the USFL in the spring of 2023. The Bills signed him right before training camp but he made no impact. In fact, tight end Joel Wilson, who will be cut, is the better bet to return to the practice squad.
Mayden and Broughton play positions that are already filled with veterans, and McGhin and White were signed last week to give the Bills able bodies for the final preseason game in Chicago.
- Sal Maiorana
Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana and on Threads @salmaiorana1.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills cuts 2023 tracker: Initial roster set
