Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills are currently enjoying some downtime before the team gathers at St. John Fisher University for the start of training camp on July 29.
From rookie minicamp and voluntary minicamp to organized team activities and mandatory minicamp, rookies and veterans alike have had a few opportunities to make a lasting impression on Brandon Beane and Joe Brady, but training camp and the team’s three preseason games represent the biggest chance for players to stake their claim to a spot on the 53-man roster.
Today’s edition of Buffalo Rumblinks leads off with thoughts from a few Bills beat writers on who they would name to Buffalo’s 53-man roster heading into training camp.
Check out the assessments and then be sure to leave your thoughts on who has earned a spot on the active roster, who still has work to do, and who is an obvious cut candidate in the comments section.
This exercise of projecting Buffalo’s active roster used to be standard under former head coach Sean McDermott, when a player’s ability to contribute on special teams was given extra significance when pairing down the Bills’ roster. We don’t know how new head coach Joe Brady will handle deciding those final roster spots, but it is reasonable to expect some tight competition to earn a roster spot, especially in the first year of Jim Leonhard’s defense, which is making the switch to a base 3-4 scheme.
We hear from a few outlets on who they think will make the active roster and who will be a cut candidate. Some of the interesting positional battles to watch include: along the defensive line—between promising rookie Zane Durant, veteran Phidarian Mathis, DeWayne Carter, and Mike Danna; at wide receiver—between Mecole Hardman Jr. and Trent Sherfield; at safety—can fan-favorite Damar Hamlin wrestle a spot away from someone like Geno Stone or Sam Franklin; and at fullback, where Jackson Acker is battling with Ben VanSumeren.
We also offer up some bold predictions and identify three players with “boom or bust” potential at training camp; learn what makes rookie wide receiver Skyler Bell a likely training camp standout; and more!
Identifying which second-year players take the biggest jump...
