Not long after minicamp ended the Bills parted ways with five players on their offseason roster. Undrafted rookies Joel Bell, John Faletoese and Gerald Washington along with first-year player Kyle Ward and veteran Blake Costanzo were waived Thursday.
Costanzo was the only player that had previously appeared in an NFL game with the Bills. The linebacker was a special teams performer that spent part of the last two seasons with the Bills. However, he was buried deep on the depth chart at his linebacker position.
With the addition of fifth-round pick Nic Harris and Alvin Bowen now healthy, Costanzo slipped even further down the defensive depth chart.
Cornerback Kyle Ward got a long look from the Bills and even got a few first team reps when injuries struck the cornerback position during OTAs. Again however, with the Bills investing in young cornerbacks in the draft in the form of sixth-round pick Cary Harris and seventh-round pick Ellis Lankster, Ward was unlikely to get many reps in training camp.
Undrafted rookies Joel Bell, John Faletoese and Gerald Washington all saw most of their reps during the OTA and minicamp practices with the third team offense and defense.
Bell saw most of his time at right tackle and worked hard, but with veteran Kirk Chambers, Jonathan Scott and Demetrius Bell on the roster, Buffalo already has secondary options at offensive tackle and all three have played in the league.
Defensive tackle John Faletoese and defensive end Gerald Washington worked hard, but would have been caught up in a numbers game at their respective positions come training camp as well.
Buffalo's offseason roster is now at 75 players, minus their draft choices, which don't count toward the team's roster total until they are signed to contracts. The Bills have eight draft choices and the roster limit in the offseason is 80.
