By CHUCK POLLOCK, Sun Senior Sports Columnist
It was a day of high anxiety for some three dozen Bills players Tuesday afternoon as the team reduced its 90-man roster to 53 regular-season players leaving 37 unemployed, at least temporarily.
You see, Wednesday afternoon at 4 o’clock, Buffalo can name its 16-player practice squad … leaving 21 hopefuls disappointed, confronting the reality that their dreams of playing in the National Football League were likely dashed.
The only surprise on the 53-man roster was center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger who missed all of training camp with a calf injury but was added to the roster as he’s the back-up to starting center Connor McGovern.
Let’s start with the Bills’ current 53-man roster:
QUARTERBACK (2): Josh Allen, Mitchell Trubisky
RUNNING BACK (4): James Cook, Ray Davis, Ty Johnson, Reggie Gilliam (FB)
WIDE RECEIVER (6): Kahlil Shakir, Joshua Palmer, Elijah Moore, Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel,Tyrell Shavers
TIGHT END (3): Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox, Jackson Hawes
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Dion Dawkins, David Edwards, Connor McGovern, O’Cyrus Torrence, Spencer Brown, Alec Anderson, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Chase Lundt, Ryan Van Demark
DEFENSIVE END (5): Greg Rousseau, Joey Bosa, A.J. Epenesa, Javon Solomon, Landon Jackson
DEFENSIVE TACKLE (5): Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, T.J. Sanders, Deone Walker, DeWayne Carter
LINEBACKER (5): Terrel Bernard, Matt Milano, Dorian Williams, Joe Andreessen, Shaq Thompson
DEFENSIVE BACKS (7): Christian Benford, Tre’Davious White, Dorian Strong, Ja’Marcus Ingram, Taron Johnson, Cam Lewis, Brandon Codrington
SAFETIES (4): Taylor Rapp, Cole Bishop, Damar Hamlin, Jordan Hancock
SPECIALISTS (3): Tyler Bass (K), Brad Robbins (P), Reid Ferguson (LS)
Players waived (27):
Quarterback (2): Shane Buechele, Mike White
Running back (1): Frank Gore Jr.
Wide receiver (5): Deon Cain, Stephen Gosnell, K.J. Hamler, Laviska Shenault, Kristian Wilkerson
Tight end (2): Zach Davidson, Keleki Latu
Offensive line (6): Jacob Bayer, Travis Clayton, Mike Edwards, Dan Feeney, Richard Gouraige, Kendrick Green
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun senior sports columnist, started covering the Bills when the current stadium opened. He is a national Associated Press columnist of the year and can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
