Buffalo Bills QB Shane Buechele leads a huddle against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Buffalo Bills final 53-man roster prediction following preseason finale

Originally posted on Buffalo Bills on SI | By Randy Gurzi | Last updated Aug 24, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Buffalo Bills wrapped up the preseason with a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday night.

While most of the spots on the team were set going into this game, there were still a couple of players who had a final chance to make the 53-man roster. Quarterback Shane Buechele and wide receiver Tyrell Shavers were the ones who best took advantage of this opportunity, but was it enough to keep them on the team?

Teams have until 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 26, to trim their rosters. Let's take a look at how that initial roster might look for the Bills, who have some tough decisions to make.

Quarterback (3):

Josh Allen
Mitchell Trubisky
Shane Buechele

Running Back (4):

James Cook
Ray Davis
Ty Johnson
Reggie Gilliam

Wide Receiver (6):

Keon Coleman
Khalil Shakir
Joshua Palmer
Curtis Samuel
Tyrell Shavers
Laviska Shenault

Tight End (3):

Dalton Kincaid
Dawson Knox
Jackson Hawes

Offensive Line (9):

Dion Dawkins
David Edwards
Connor McGovern
O'Cyrus Torrance
Spencer Brown
Ryan Van Demark
Tylan Grable
Sedrick Van Pran-Granger
Alec Anderson

Offensive Summary

After his performance on Saturday, Shane Buechele threw his name in the QB2 discussion. While the coaching staff is likely to continue trusting Mitchell Trubisky, they at least keep Buechele on the roster.

At receiver, Elijah Moore is let go, which isn't an easy decision. Tyrell Shavers proved to be a better option as a receiver and Laviska Shenault keeps his spot due to his return skills. Still, there are very few surprises on the offenisve side of the ball.

Defensive Line (10):

Greg Rousseau
Ed Oliver
DaQuan Jones
Joey Bosa
AJ Epenesa
Landon Jackson
Javon Solomon
TJ Sanders
DeWayne Carter
Deone Walker

Michael Hoecht, Larry Ogunjobi (Suspended)

Linebacker (5):

Terrel Bernard
Matt Milano
Dorian Williams
Joe Andreesen
Shaq Thompson

Cornerback (6):

Christian Benford
Tre'Davious White
Taron Johnson
Cam Lewis
Dorian Strong
Ja'Marcus Ingram

Maxwell Hairston (PUP)

Safety (4):

Taylor Rapp
Cole Bishop
Damar Hamlin
Jordan Hancock

Specialists (3):

Tyler Bass (K)
Brad Robbins (P)
Reid Ferguson (LS)

Defensive Summary

The defensive line and linebacker corps have been set for a while, it seems. The biggest obstacle will be determining the right rotation at defensive tackle, where there's suddenly a lot of talent. At linebacker, the one question was if Keonta Jenkins could carve out a role, but an injury put an end to that for the undrafted rookie.

Buffalo goes deep at cornerback to make up for injuries. They have yet to reveal the status of Tre'Davious White, and if he's going to miss time, things could look different. At safety, they have four players, but should be looking for help in free agency or on the waiver wire.