The Buffalo Bills completed their preseason slate this past Saturday against the Carolina Panthers — a game in which Buffalo’s starters didn’t play for the entirety of the scrimmage. It was a last-ditch effort for the Bills’ veteran and rookie options to prove their worth before roster cutdown time.
Some of Buffalo’s rookies received the day off while others saw extended time they hadn’t benefited from in games prior. It was an overall fine game by the team while the Panthers decided to play their starting unit for a drive. The difference in talent each team decided to play was obvious, but it still resulted in a Bills loss.
On Tuesday, the team made their official roster cuts and narrowed down the roster to 53 with some heated bottom-of-the-roster competition coming to an end.
Let’s talk about who got some run in Saturday’s action and who saw rest. We’ll also delve into which rookies were affected by roster cuts and decisions by Bills general manager Brandon Beane.
WR Keon Coleman
Coleman was amongst the group who sat out last Saturday. Coleman is comfortably in the top group of receivers heading into the 2024 NFL season. While he didn’t make much preseason noise in the two contests he played in, it’s clear the team still views him as someone likely to contribute a ton in his rookie campaign on the outside.
S Cole Bishop
Bishop is back at practice after missing a few weeks of work due to a shoulder injury. He’s begun practicing in a non-contact jersey, but it’s good to see him make a return to the field. The Bills decided to cut Kareem Jackson on cutdown day. which gives some indication the team is expecting a semi-fast return for Bishop. He wasn’t placed on short-term Injured Reserve, which is another great sign of pending return. Time will tell when Bishop’s able to debut and what he looks like once doing so.
DT Dewayne Carter
Despite a fairly underwhelming preseason, Carter didn’t play in the final preseason game. He doesn’t have an injury designation of any kind either. As a third-round pick, Carter was a roster lock. But not playing in the finale implies that the Bills may be comfortable with where Carter’s at — even with a lack of splash plays being made by the Duke product.
RB Ray Davis
Davis was another who didn’t dress for the final preseason bout against Carolina. Davis was always a comfortable roster lock even as a Day 3 pick. Davis seems to have sealed up RB2 duties to begin the season after his strong camp and preseason performances.
IOL Sedrick Van Pran-Granger
Van Pran-Granger started the game at center and only played that position throughout the third preseason game. I thought he looked very good working and moving to the second level of the defense on several concepts the Bills were showing from a run-game perspective. He also showed well looking for work as a pass protector. He had an impressive first drive against the Panthers starting unit that made it look like he clearly belonged. Van Pran-Granger didn’t play in the second half, and made the 53-man roster despite being lined up with the third-team offensive line through much of camp and preseason.
LB Edefuan Ulofoshio
Ulofoshio didn’t start the game, but he began receiving defensive snaps quickly during the second drive and ended up finishing the game. He showed well as a sure tackler taking on blocks throughout. Ulofoshio was beaten in coverage a couple of times matching up with tight ends and running backs where he initially showed good positioning, but fell off his man late in reps. Ulofoshio is a good athlete, and it showed in Saturday’s performance. He’s still shaking off rust from a camp injury. He did look like he belonged, and he’s now also a member of the 53-man roster.
EDGE Javon Solomon
Solomon started the game for the Bills at defensive end. He had an opportunity to finish an effort sack and just missed doing so on the opening drive of the game. Later, he had a special teams stop on a second-quarter punt to prevent a potentially huge return. Solomon showed off some motor to make a play way down field on a receiver as well.
I thought Solomon was physically moved in this game more so than other preseason showings this summer. He did make a few effective plays and was around the ball a fair bit. He didn’t play much down the stretch, and was allowed to rest in the second half. Solomon was viewed as a virtual lock to make the roster and did end up on the 53-man group on Tuesday.
OL Tylan Grable
Grable got the start at left tackle and showed some up-and-down play throughout his first-half performance. I have some questions on overall grip strength, and pad positioning in the run game needs polish as evidenced on first drive of game against Panthers’ starting defense. He did have a few dominant reps against Carolina’s edge rushers, including one on the second drive to bury a pass rusher and control his rep from start to finish. He also had a successful snatch-and-trap utilized. He was called for a fairly questionable hold late in the second quarter. Grable didn’t play in second half. He continues to show awesome flashes, and his ability to play left tackle at an adequate level for a sixth-round pick is markedly important. Grable also made the 53-man roster, which is no surprise after working almost exclusively with the second-team offensive line for the entirety of training camp.
— Anthony Cover 1 (@Pro__Ant) August 25, 2024GORGEOUS snatch trap from Tylan Grable (68)#Bills #BillsMafia #GoBills
CB/Returner Daequan Hardy
Hardy didn’t start the game at corner, with the Bills electing to get former first-round pick Kaiir Elam some run. He did, however, start at punt returner where he made a couple of quality decisions to allow punts to hit the end zone instead of returning it. He also allowed a kickoff later in the game to run out of bounds instead of picking it up. That was a sign of growth in the return game. Hardy nearly had an interception in the second half on an underthrown ball where he appeared to be beaten off the line. He recovered well to contest a bigger receiver for a pass breakup. He later had a sure tackle for loss in run support.
Hardy was surprisingly waived on cutdown day Tuesday despite flashes at corner and returner. The Bills, instead, traded for returner Brandon Codrington who had some preseason success for the New York Jets this summer. Codrington is also a cornerback. At this time, he’s a member of the 53-man roster over Hardy. Luckily, Hardy passed through waivers and was signed to the team’s practice squad.
OL Travis Clayton
Failing to appear in the final preseason game, Clayton was shifted over to the season-ending IR list on Tuesday. Clayton barely practiced before being knocked out with injury. He has plenty of things to view and watch from a technique standpoint transitioning to football that can be of use to him as he sits out 2024.
Bonus LB Joe Andreessen
Andreessen started his second consecutive game for the Bills. This game wasn’t quite as good as the Week 2 effort. There were some issues in coverage with a potential miscommunication with veteran linebacker Deion Jones. There were also some evident situations where he was exposed in zone for displaying bad eyes. Andreessen’s got a lot of work to do as a coverage player, but he did continue to make sound tackles in space and show an ability to battle blocks to limit large gains.
The Buffalo native made the 53-man unit and he appears to be entering the season on the team’s active roster.
