Next Tuesday, all 32 teams have to cut down their rosters to 53 players by 4:00 PM EST. The Buffalo Bills are deep at many positions, minus two glaring ones that fans have been discussing all week. That means the Bills will have to cut some good players, and some that may shock the fanbase. So, whose roster spot is in jeopardy heading into the final preseason game?
Tyrel Dodson
This is shocking, considering Dodson has been in contention for the starting MLB job all summer. However, given he played late in the fourth quarter of the Steelers game Saturday, it makes you wonder if he’ll be on the roster come Week 1. Dodson has been the “next man up” in the MLB rotation for a few years now. And, depending on how you look at it, he’s had some good and bad games. The Vikings game last season, when he filled in for Tremaine Edmunds, and the following game weren’t pretty sights for fans either.
But if you believe what Coach McDermott tells you in press conferences, Tyrel Dodson is still in contention for the job and there’s no reason to be worried about his status. Once the Bills step on the field Saturday, we’ll get a clearer picture of what his roster status looks like.
AJ Epenesa
It’s weird to say that someone who just put up a career-high 6.5 sacks would be “on the bubble”. However, AJ Epenesa seems to be getting passed on the depth chart throughout the preseason. And if Boogie Basham, Kingsley Jonathan, and Kameron Cline have a strong game next week, Epenesa could be the latest pass rusher shipped off before the season. With the influx of pass rushers, and Von Miller coming back soon (we hope), Brandon Beane could trade him within the next couple of weeks. (Perhaps to shore up the OT position?)
Siran Neal
Crazy, I know. But if the Buffalo Bills are serious about finding a spot on this roster for Cam Lewis, they could put him at backup nickel. That would save them $2.7M by moving on from Siran Neal. The Bills have been toying with the gunner position all preseason, giving guys like Christian Benford and Justin Shorter reps. It’s possible they would like to use that money to add to another position of need.
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