1. Buffalo goes heavy at receiver
The Bills offensive identity is expected to remain the same in 2021, one that's rooted in a wide open and multiple passing attack. That was reflected in Buffalo's roster decisions at the receiver position.
A year after keeping six wide receivers on their active roster, the Bills kept seven.
Stefon Diggs, Cole Beasley, Emmanuel Sanders and Gabriel Davis were widely considered to be locks for the roster. Isaiah McKenzie, Jake Kumerow and rookie Marquez Stevenson all had solid preseasons to earn the final three spots.
McKenzie, Kumerow and Stevenson all offer special teams abilities, with McKenzie and Stevenson both flashing in the return game this preseason. Kumerow offers kick and punt coverage abilities.
Seven NFL clubs carried seven receivers on their active roster last year. In 2020, the Bills were one of 16 teams that carried six wideouts.
2. Pass rush at a premium
The Bills made their pass rush a major priority in the offseason, and it was again reflected in their choices for their 53-man roster. Buffalo kept six defensive ends on their squad, including their top two draft choices in Greg Rousseau and Boogie Basham.
They additionally kept free agent signee Efe Obada to go with their 2020 core of Mario Addison, Jerry Hughes and A.J. Epenesa.
Buffalo's defensive line carried the most players on the entire roster with 11 total, six defensive ends and five defensive tackles.
The Buffalo Bills' 53-man roster for the 2021 season is here. Scroll through to learn about the players on this year's team.
QB Josh Allen, No. 17 - Signed a six-year extension after setting a single-season franchise records for passing touchdowns (37), completions (396), 300-yard games (8), passer rating (107.2), completion percentage (69.2), passing yards (4,544), and total touchdowns (46) in 2020.
QB Mitchell Trubisky, No. 10 – The No. 2 pick in 2017 reached the playoffs twice in four seasons with Chicago before joining the Bills on a one-year deal during the offseason.
RB Zack Moss, No. 20 – The second-year running back caught a touchdown pass from Josh Allen in Buffalo's preseason finale against Green Bay.
RB Matt Breida, No. 22 – Fleet-of-foot running back signed a one-year deal during the offseason after averaging 4.9 yards per carry in four seasons with San Francisco and Miami.
RB Taiwan Jones, No. 25 – Veteran back has returned 82 kickoffs for 1,890 yards in his career.
RB Devin Singletary, No. 26 – The third-year running back rushed for 687 yards on 156 carries and caught 38 passes for 269 yards in 2020.
FB Reggie Gilliam, No. 41 – Rushed for two touchdowns during Buffalo's preseason win over Chicago.
WR Emmanuel Sanders, No. 1 – Veteran newcomer ranks eighth in the NFL with 8,619 receiving yards since 2010.
WR Marquez Stevenson, No. 5 – Rookie returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown during the preseason win over Chicago.
WR Cole Beasley, No. 11 – Named a Second-Team All-Pro in 2020, when he set career highs in receiving yards (967) and receptions (82).
WR Gabriel Davis, No. 13 – Fourth-round pick made an impact as a rookie in 2020, catching seven touchdowns during the regular season before amassing 85 receiving yards in Buffalo's Wild Card game against Indianapolis.
WR Stefon Diggs, No. 14 - Named a First-Team All-Pro in 2020 after becoming the first player in Bills history to lead the NFL in catches (127) and yards (1,535).
WR Jake Kumerow, No. 15 – Caught a touchdown on his first NFL reception in 2020 during Buffalo's win over Denver.
WR Isaiah McKenzie, No. 19 – Versatile offensive weapons scored touchdowns as a receiver, a returner, and as a passer in 2020.
TE Dawson Knox, No. 88 – Recorded three touchdowns in 2020, his second NFL season.
TE Tommy Sweeney, No. 89 – Appeared in six games as a rookie in 2019 before missing last season with myocarditis resulting from COVID-19.
C Mitch Morse, No. 60 – Veteran has started 86-of-86 career games played, including seven playoff appearances.
OG Ike Boettger, No. 65 – Appeared in a career-high 12 games during the 2020 regular season, including seven starts at left guard, before starting all three of Buffalo's playoff games.
OL Ryan Bates, No. 71 – Returns for a third season in a reserve role on the Buffalo offensive line.
OT Tommy Doyle, No. 72 – The Bills drafted Doyle in the fifth round (161st overall) after he earned First-Team All-MAAC honors during a shortened senior season at the University of Miami (OH).
OL Daryl Williams, No. 75 – Signed a three-year contract extension after starting all 16 games at right tackle in 2020.
OT Dion Dawkins, No. 73 – The left tackle has not missed a game in four NFL seasons.
OL Cody Ford, No. 74 – The third-year offensive lineman has started games at both guard and tackle during his young career.
OT Spencer Brown, No. 79 – Buffalo's third-round pick (93rd overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft spent last season training with former All-Pro tackle Joe Staley.
OG Jon Feliciano, No. 76 – The versatile offensive lineman returns to Buffalo after signing a three-year contract extension in March.
DE Greg Rousseau, No. 50 – Buffalo's first-round pick in 2021 made an early splash, registering two sacks in three preseason games.
DE Jerry Hughes, No. 55 – The longest-tenured Bills player ranks fifth in team history with 51 sacks.
DE A.J. Epenesa, No. 57 – The defensive end progressed steadily as a rookie in 2020, playing at least 34 percent of defensive snaps in each game after the bye.
DT Justin Zimmer, No. 61 – Recorded 21 tackles in 2020, including the game-winning forced fumble against New England in Week 8.
DT Ed Oliver, No. 91 – Registered 34 tackles, three sacks and six tackles for a loss in 2020.
DE Boogie Basham, No. 96 – Selected 61st overall by the Bills in the 2021 NFL Draft, Basham tallied one sack and two tackles for loss during the preseason.
DE Efe Obada, No. 93 – London native became the first player from the NFL International Pathway Program to make a 53-man roster with Carolina in 2018.
DT Vernon Butler, No. 94 – Defensive tackle posted 18 tackles, including five for a loss, and a forced fumble during his first season with the Bills in 2020.
DE Mario Addison, No. 97 – The veteran returns for his second season in Buffalo after leading the team with five sacks in 2020.
Space-eating defensive tackle returns to the Bills after opting out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
DT Harrison Phillips, No. 99 – Nominated by teammates for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2020.
LB Tyler Matakevich, No. 44 – Led the Bills with 10 special teams tackles in 2020.
LB Tremaine Edmunds, No. 49 – The fourth-year linebacker is one of two players in NFL history to record 300-plus career tackles before the age of 23, along with five-time All-Pro Luke Kuechly.
LB A.J. Klein, No. 54 – Registered 4.5 sacks during the month of November last season, which led all NFL linebackers.
LB Andre Smith, No. 59 – Appeared in 12 games with the Bills in 2020, recording seven tackles on defense with one tackle for a loss.
LB Tyrel Dodson, No. 53 – Undrafted linebacker returns for his third season in Buffalo after posting 20 tackles in 10 games in 2020.
LB Matt Milano, No. 58 – The Bills went 10-0 last season in games with Milano, who returns on a four-year extension.
CB Taron Johnson, No. 24 – The nickel corner left his mark on Buffalo's postseason run, intercepting Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson and returning it 101 yards for a game-changing touchdown in the Bills' 17-3 Divisional Round victory.
CB Tre'Davious White, No. 27 – Named Second-Team All-Pro last season and earned his second Pro Bowl selection.
CB Dane Jackson, No. 30 – Started at cornerback and registered an interception in his NFL debut against the Jets last season.
CB Siran Neal, No. 33 – Played 62-percent of special teams snaps in 2020, a career high.
CB Levi Wallace, No. 39 – Undrafted cornerback enters his fourth season with the Bills after ranking second on the team in interceptions (2) and passes defended (9) in 2020.
S Jordan Poyer, No. 21 – Since joining the Bills in 2017, Poyer is the only NFL player with 400-plus tackles, 10-plus interceptions, and five-plus sacks.
S Micah Hyde, No. 23 – The veteran is one of four defensive backs in the NFL with 17-plus interceptions and four-plus sacks since 2013.
S Damar Hamlin, No. 31 – Sixth-round pick led the University of Pittsburgh in tackles (67) and pass breakups (7) last season.
S Jaquan Johnson, No. 46 – Sixth-round pick in 2019 is entering his third season with the Bills.
K Tyler Bass, No. 2 – Returns for his second season after setting a franchise record with 141 points as a rookie in 2020.
P Matt Haack, No. 3 – Joins the Bills after four seasons in Miami, where he stands as the Dolphins' all-time leader in net punting average (39.9).
LS Reid Ferguson, No. 69 – Long snapper signed a three-year contract extension in May.
3. Just two QBs
Just like last year the Bills are carrying just a pair of quarterbacks on the active roster with Josh Allen and Mitchell Trubisky filling the starting and backup roles.
Allen started all 16 games last season for the Bills, though he did come out early in the team's regular season finale against Miami.
Last year, Davis Webb and Jake Fromm were both on the practice squad, and that could be the case again this season with the expanded 16-player practice squad returning again this year.
4. Bills go five deep at RB, light at TE
Although the roster could be subject to some adjusting, the Bills initial 53-man squad is carrying five running backs counting FB Reggie Gilliam.
Buffalo kept free agent signee Matt Breida, draft choices Zack Moss and Devin Singletary, special teams veteran Taiwan Jones and Gilliam a second-year undrafted player.
One of Buffalo's main edicts this past offseason was to run the ball more effectively in 2021. They now have a diverse stable of backs and a fullback to do so.
In going heavier at running back, and receiver for that matter, the coaching staff chose to go lighter at tight end to accommodate those two positions with greater numbers.
The Bills carried only two true tight ends on the 53-man roster in Dawson Knox and Tommy Sweeney. Gilliam could double as a tight end as he has played the position previously, but this position also may see some roster shuffling in the days to come.
5. Six members of draft class make the roster
Buffalo's 2021 draft class had an uphill battle to prove they belonged on the active roster. While Greg Rousseau, Boogie Basham and Spencer Brown had strong camps and were expected to make the squad, the situation was more up in the air for day three draft choices like Tommy Doyle, Marquez Stevenson and Damar Hamlin.
But all three made the 53-man roster on Tuesday.
The only draft choices who did not make the squad were sixth-round pick Rachad Wildgoose and seventh-round pick Jack Anderson. Both are expected to be strong candidates for the team's practice squad.
6. Long snapper situation
The Bills did not count veteran long snapper Reid Ferguson among their initial 53 players. He also did not play in the team's preseason finale last weekend against Green Bay.
Much like last year when a couple of veteran players did not appear on the first 53-man roster, they were added back to the roster after other designations were made days later. It's anticipated Ferguson will be handled in a similar fashion as the week moves along.
Ferguson is the second-longest tenured player on the roster next to Jerry Hughes.
7. Cam Newton released by Patriots
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Cam Newton would be his starting quarterback until someone outperformed him. By most accounts Patriots rookie QB Mac Jones did just that. Belichick named Jones the team's starting quarterback and released the veteran Newton.
Newton in an Instagram post said he appreciated the support, but would be fine.
8. Josh Allen now oldest starting QB in AFC East
With Mac Jones assuming the starting role in New England, Josh Allen is now the oldest starting quarterback in the division at 25 years of age.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau and ESPN's Adam Schefter, the AFC East is the first division since the AFC Central in 1973 to have all four starting quarterbacks in Week 1 to be 25 years of age or younger. Those QBs were Ken Anderson, Terry Bradshaw, Dan Pastorini and Mike Phipps.
9. Jets trade TE Chris Herndon
The Jets chose to move on from their former fourth-round pick (2018) sending Herndon to the Minnesota Vikings, who were looking to replace TE Irv Smith Jr. who they recently lost for an undetermined amount of time with a knee injury.
Herndon's most productive season came in his rookie season when he pulled in 39 receptions for just over 500 yards and four touchdowns.
New York acquired a 2022 fourth-round pick from Minnesota in exchange for Herndon, who is entering his fourth NFL season, and a sixth-round pick next spring.
It leaves the Jets with Ryan Griffin and former Bill Tyler Kroft as the top two tight ends on New York's roster.
10. John Brown released by Raiders
Former Bill and veteran receiver John Brown was released by the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday. According to reports Brown asked the club for his release after he was not getting any reps with the first team offense.
The Raiders granted his request.
After spending two seasons with the Bills, John Brown was a salary cap casualty of the club this past offseason.
The 31-year old could get some interest around the league as a free agent.
