Matt’s 2022 53-Man Roster Prediction
Written by Matt Koester- Overdue Bills Analyst. 8/28/2022
As I said on the show last week Monday, this time of the year is the toughest time for all GM’s who spent countless hours scouting from February to now. The time has come to craft the final 53 players that will be on our roster for the Super Bowl journey that we are about to embark upon. Brandon Beane, in my opinion has one of the toughest cutdowns in terms of so much young talent that WILL get scooped up if they are left on the practice squad or cut. There are just two easy groups of cutdowns on this roster (Kicker/long snapper, Fullback), Tuesday August 30th at 4 pm ET is the deadline for final cuts to be made and this is how I predict they will go.
QB (2)-Josh Allen, Case Keenum
Cut(s): Matt Barkley
The first tough decision. Josh is obviously the easy choice here, but Case Keenum’s starts in the NFL will probably give Ken Dorsey more comfort going into the season. Barkley’s first visit as a punter will not keep him on the team.
RB (4)-Devin Singletary, James Cook, Zack Moss, Taiwan Jones
Cut(s): Duke Johnson, Raheem Blackshear
In the beginning of camp, I was on the “Zack Moss is gone” train for sure. After this short 6 weeks I am the first to say I was wrong. Moss has looked good; Singletary is our clear #1 and Cook will get touches after showing some slight explosion out there in his first action. Taiwan Jones will be an ace on special teams so that keeps him around at least for now.
FB (1)- Reggie Gilliam
An easy Group to call.
WR (6)- Stefon Diggs, Isaiah McKenzie, Gabriel Davis, Isaiah Hodgins, Khalil Shakir, Jamison Crowder,
Cut(s): Marquez Stevenson, Neil Pau’u, Jake Kumerow, Tanner Gentry (IR)
Another tough group to decide on. Diggs, McKenzie, Gabe are easy. Shakir has shown early to be another steal by Mr. Beane in this WR room. Hodgins has also shown enough in my opinion to stay on the roster to be another option if it comes down to it. Kumerow is another special teamer that may stay for that, but I think we will save a spot for another room lacking in bodies that will be talked about later in this article. The hardest pick was Jamison Crowder. We all know what he can be, a 100+ catch slot receiver, pro bowler, reliable target in any offense. He just hasn’t made that big of an impact in preseason or camp for that matter with the injury and just new home.
TE (3)-Dawson Knox, Quintin Morris, OJ Howard.
Cut(s): Tommy Sweeney
This one might be the first surprise to people. Dawson easy lock, OJ semi lock despite Rad and I’m sure every other Bills fan noting just being big out there. He has the upside to be good for us. If Beane can get something from him that would be great, but I’m sure he doesn’t want to shell out any more cap space that he’d like to free up, OJ would be a dead 2 million if released. Quintin Morris has had a good preseason and I think that will keep him around and send Tommy Sweeney out.
OT-(4)- Spencer Brown, Dion Dawkins, Tommy Doyle, David Quessenberry
Cut(s): Alec Anderson, Luke Tenuta
The 4 keepers here are pretty easy, The hard part will be if Spencer Brown and Tommy Doyle are 100% going into the season. If not, then they may keep another guy around.
Interior lineman (5)- Ryan Bates, Rodger Saffold, Mitch Morse, Bobby Hart, Greg Van Roten
Cut(s): Jacob Capra, Tanner Owen, Greg Mancz
Bates, Saffold and Morse are easy. Hart will be the first one out when Ike Boettger returns from the PUP list and Van Roten is safe for now just because of another body being needed.
DT(4)- Daquan Jones, Ed Oliver, Jordan Phillips, Tim Settle
Cut(s): Eli Ankou, Brandin Bryant, Prince Emili, CJ Brewer
Pretty easy group to pick. All 3 besides Ed were brought in for some decent money and all can be mountain movers to allow Ed and the DE’s not to see much double teams this season.
DE(5)-Von Miller, Greg Rosseau, Boogie Basham, Shaq Lawson, Mike Love
Cut(s) AJ Epenesa, Kingsley Jonathan, Daniel Joesph.
1 surprise here in AJ Epenesa. I think Mike Love has shown that he can do more in this rotation than AJ but is Beane willing to part ways with the former 2nd rounder? That remains to be seen.
LB(6)- Tremaine Edmunds, Matt Milano, Terrel Bernard, Tyler Matakevich, Tyrel Dodson, Baylon Spector.
Cut(s)- Joe Giles Harris, Andre Harris (when he’s back from suspension)
A heavy number for this group but also a room filled with contributors. Edmunds, and Milano are going to be the mainstays here. Bernard has already shown flashes of athleticism and coverage in this short time. Dodson, Matakevich and Spector will be staples on special teams so we wont part with them. They also have shown they can crack the lineup in an injury scenario.
CB (6)- Kaiir Elam, Taron Johnson, Christian Benford, Dane Jackson, Cam Lewis, Siran Neal.
Cut(s)- Nick McCloud, Ja’Marcus Ingram, Jordan Miller.
Tre White will start on the PUP list so that will keep a spot open for this group and give them another 6 game start to stick around. Kaiir Elam and Christin Benford will see a lot of time this season after showing the maturity to step right in and be in the moment. Cam Lewis is a guy who has had a good preseason and I feel like he has done enough to warrant a spot here. Siran Neal will be another Special Teams guy and Dane Jackson will be in the #2 spot for now rotating with the young guys. Don’t surprised to see Beane bring in a guy with some cap space opening up.
Safety (4) Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer, Jaquan Johnson, Damar Hamlin
Cut(s): Josh Thomas
This is another Easy Group. Jaquan Johnson has shown that hes more than capable of stepping in if either Hyde or Poyer don’t start the year off due to Injury.
Specialists (3) Tyler Bass, Reid Ferguson, TBA
With the Punt God being cut due to his latest Civil Lawsuit, The Bills punter position is up for grabs. Many Punters have petitioned on social media and im sure would love to get a chance. Beane will likely sign someone this week since Matt Haack has already signed with another team.
So there it is folks. Be sure to check out the final roster cuts Before Tuesdays deadline and make sure to Tune in with us every week on Monday and interview shows later in the week.