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The 91 players on the Buffalo Bills list did their best.
With the pre-season ending Thursday night against the Minnesota Vikings, the Bills' coaching and front-office staff must now begin the task of defining the 53-man roster for the regular season. This must be done before 4 pm Saturday.
Keep in mind that these 53 players may not be the same on the list on September 8 against the New York Jets. With nearly 1,200 players becoming free agents Saturday, it is quite possible that the Bills make waiver requests to strengthen their workforce.
For now, however, here is the latest showing of The Buffalo News' list of 53 summer players.
Quarterbacks (2): Josh Allen, Matt Barkley
Cut: Tyree Jackson
Analysis: Allen ended the preseason with a bit of duping against the Lions, but the summer was overall positive for the second-year starter of the Bills. He has shown growth in key areas such as staying in the pocket and delivering accurate and timely passes. Allen is optimistic in 2019 for good reason.
Barkley, meanwhile, gives the Bills something that was long overdue: a reliable backup. He was great in the preseason. If anything should happen to Allen, Barkley seems able to keep things afloat.
The dramatic side of the quarterback of this pre-season was less to know who does the alignment of the 53 players but rather to know if the product of University at Buffalo, Tyree Jackson, could make its way in the team of 39; drive. Maybe the fierce fourth quarter rally that Jackson led on Thursday night against the Vikings is enough to do it. Whatever the case may be, the Bills will want a quarterback of development in the training team with only Allen and Barkley among the active players.
The halves (4): Sean McCoy, Frank Gore, Devin Singletary, T.J. Yeldon
Cups: Senorise Perry, Marcus Murphy, Christian Wade
Analysis: An ankle injury at the wrong time damaged Perry's attack. Although he has been outstanding in the special teams throughout his career, this projection has allowed the Bills to keep several other players for this reason. In simple terms, Yeldon is the most talented player and the Bills need it as much as possible for their attack. Murphy showed Thursday against the Vikings with a punt return return of 79 yards for a touchdown that he was an NFL-caliber player, but he will likely remain a victim of the numbers match.
Wade, who made a name for himself before the first two games with his big winnings, was calm on Thursday. It seems destined to instead exempt in the training team, which would give the former professional rugby player another year to learn the game.
Fullback (1): Patrick DiMarco
Cup: none
Analysis: DiMarco does not plan to play an important role in the offensive, but he is a team leader and a contributor of special teams who will be called upon to intervene in certain situations.
Wide receivers (6): John Brown, Cole Beasley, Zay Jones, Robert Foster, Andre Roberts, Isaiah McKenzie.
Cups: Ray-Ray McCloud, Duc Williams, Nick Easley, David V Sills, Victor Bolden Jr., Cam Phillips.
Analysis: According to recent projections of 53 people, the bills retain seven large receivers, McKenzie and Williams remaining stuck. This number seems too high, however. The Bills have retained five recipients in Sean McDermott's first year and six in 2018.
It is interesting to note that Williams played in attack against the Vikings, while McKenzie only played in special teams. In a failed battle, he was rewarded for his ability to save Beasley as a slot receiver.
After touchdowns in the following weeks, Williams had a quiet evening against the Vikings, with two catches for 18 yards. He is the biggest receiver of the Bills, but it is difficult to understand the role he would really have in the offensive.
McCloud had a good game against the Vikings, capturing his five targets for 48 yards. Nevertheless, the problems with the drops earlier in the pre-season will be costly in what has been such a close battle. This is a good candidate for the training team.
There has been speculation about the status of Jones and Foster players after they played at unusual times among the locks of the team: Jones in the second half of the third pre-season game and Foster Thursday night against the Vikings. It seems crazy to me. They both showed that they were quite numerous last year to return to the list of active players, especially as Foster had to deal with an injury this summer.
Ends tight (4): Dawson Knox, Lee Smith, Tommy Sweeney, Tyler Kroft
Cups: Jason Croom, Nate Becker, Keith Towbridge, Kyle Carter
Analysis: The Bills' front office and medical staff are scheduled to meet on Friday, said Brandon CEO Beane, before making a decision. During the televised broadcast of Thursday's game, Beane felt like leaving Kroft on the list of active players to start the season is a possibility. Although he is not ready to play right away, the Bills can only dress 46 of their 53 players on match day. They could keep Kroft on the list of active players and have him as one of their inactive early in the season. This means that he could be part of the training sooner than he was starting the year on the list of people physically unable to perform, which would keep him away for at least six games.
Knox is safe as a third round pick and seems to be in good health after suffering a thigh injury. Smith is an excellent veteran who will fulfill his role of blocker and Sweeney will remain the fourth tight end after a strong summer. Croom played deeply in Thursday's game. Unfortunately for him, he ran out of time to impress the coaching staff after being hamstrung since spring.
Offensive line (8): Dion Dawkins, Quinton Spain, Cody Ford, Mitch Morse, Jon Spencer Long, Jon Feliciano, Ty Nsekhe, Ryan Bates
Jarron Jones, Conor McDermott, Ike Boettger, Demetrius Rhaney, Erik Magnuson, Russell Bodine
Analysis: The Bills took some action over the past week to clarify the situation, including the transfer of Wyatt Teller to Cleveland Brown on Thursday. Teller was fighting for a reserve place inside the line. The team also released tackle De'Ore Wesley after settling his injury. He was competing for the third offensive tackle position.
The Mitch Morse Center has eliminated the concussion protocol, which is good news for the regular season. However, there are still questions to be solved here. Will Quinton Spain be ready to face the Jets on September 8th when he's injured his ankle? Where does rookie Cody Ford find herself, guardian or platemaker? If the top five are on the left Dion Dawkins, Spain, Morse, Ford on the right and Ty Nsekhe on the right, who provides the depth if Dawkins or Nsekhe are injured? Bates' positional flexibility earns him a place for this reason, although it is possible that the Bills prompt Ford to tackle and insert Feliciano or Spain into injury training for Dawkins or Nsekhe.
Conclusion: there is still a lot to be done.
Defensive ends (4): Jerry Hughes, Trent Murphy, Shaq Lawson, Darryl Johnson
Cups: Eddie Yarbrough, Sam Acho, Jeff Holland
Analysis: Mike Love went to the casualty reserve this week and made things easier here. Johnson was so excited early in the preseason that the seventh round draft pick did not even take place on Thursday. Yarbrough is part of the third team since the start of the training camp. He had a good performance on Thursday, but it is difficult to see him overtake Johnson to finish fourth. Acho and Holland did not have enough time with the Bills to qualify.
Defensive attacks (4): Star Lotulelei, Oliver Ed, Jordan Phillips, Harrison Phillips
Cups: Kyle Peko, L. T. Walton, Roderick Young
Analysis: Nothing to see here. There is clearly a top four at the position. McDermott likes to turn forward on the defensive line, but Oliver should be the undisputed leader in terms of playing time. Lotulelei will be the runner of the debut. Who replaces him in obvious overtaking situations? That's pretty much the only dramatic thing about this job. Peko, Walton and Young are playing for a spot in the training team.
Seconds (7): Lorenzo Alexander, Tremaine Edmunds, Matt Milan, Julian Stanford, Lacey Deon, Vosean Joseph, Maurice Alexander
Cups: Tyrel Dodson, Corey Thompson
Analysis: Lacey had a good start at the end of the pre-season, although her long fumble return was called back against the Vikings, with the game being reversed in an incomplete pass. Determining the reserve positions behind Milan, Edmunds and Alexander have come down over.
Lacey, Joseph, Alexander, Dodson and Thompson all played against Minnesota. Joseph left the game in the second half due to an injury, but was able to return to training. He did not help his cause by getting a pass interference penalty in the Bills red zone, but that did not seem to be enough to eliminate him from the list of 53 players, especially since it was a fifth round choice. Joseph left the field early to assess his injury, which could be taken into account here. He will have to prove he can contribute to the special teams, which helps Stanford, Lacey and Alexander to gain places.
If the Bill feels that they need another body at a different position, keeping six linebackers makes sense. In this case, Alexander would be my strange man.
Security (4): Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, Kurt Coleman, Jaquan Johnson
Cups: Dean Marlowe, Abraham Wallace
Analysis: Coleman was not in uniform Thursday night, which is a good sign that he is the third security player behind Hyde and Poyer. The Bills are far in high school and Marlowe is the victim of a set of numbers in this projection. The decision returns to the potential. Johnson, as a pick for the sixth round draft, has more, though Marlowe could be the best player currently.
Anyone who loses on the fourth point of safety would be a prime candidate for the team training. It seems easier to convince Marlowe to give up the training team than Johnson, who forced and recovered a fumble for the Bills in the third preseason game to seal a win. The Bills hid Marlowe at the training group last year and promoted him to active alignment twice. A similar scenario could take place this year.
Cornerbacks (6): Tre'Davious White, Levi Wallace, Kevin Johnson, Taron Johnson, Captain Munnerlyn, Siran Neal
Cups: Ryan Lewis, Denzel Rice, Lewis Cam, Lafayette Pitts
Analysis: It's a battle between Neal and Pitts for last place. Munnerlyn, not playing Thursday night, seems to have secured a place. He is a veteran of confidence, with his experience in this defense, who can play a leading role in what will be a group of young positions. Here, we think of Munnerlyn and Kevin Johnson will serve as a substitute for the outer half corner, while Neal saves Taron Johnson in the slot and can play the role of "big nickel" in Sean McDermott's defense. Neal's physical tools, which include the ability to blitz, are more impressive than Pitts brings to the table. That helped Neal finish Thursday's win with an interception in the final game.
Neal and Pitts have both played a lot on special teams this summer, but Neal was part of the first team's coverage of the team earlier in the preseason, ahead of Pitts. The decision between the two could come to that.
Specialists (3): Corey Bojorquez, Stephen Hauschka and Reid Ferguson
Cut: Chase McLaughlin
Analysis: Bojorquez should not go to Russell for a celebratory dinner. Just because the team released Cory Carter earlier this week, leaving Bojorquez as the only bettor, his position is not necessarily frozen. Just as they did last year when they asked Bojorquez for an exemption from the derogations granted to the Patriots in the final cups, the Bills could once again see who will be on the open market on Saturday. If they think that they can improve, we have already seen that they would not hesitate to do it.
The bills told Haushcka that they were not worried about the pre-season, which they confirmed by having it signed for a two-year contract extension. He finished the preseason on a positive note Thursday scoring a goal of 54 yards.
Not to be outdone, McLaughlin scored a 54-yard goal against the Vikings, but that's not enough to overthrow Hauschka.
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