Not long after Buffalo's preseason was in the books in Detroit, Bills head coach Rex Ryan said that he and his coaches had a pretty good handle on who their 53 would be. Before the team's scheduled afternoon practice Friday, the club moved the necessary 21 players off the roster a full day before the Saturday 4 pm deadline, and there were some veterans among them.
FB Jerome Felton and OLB Manny Lawson were among the players released Friday. Felton struggled to be the dominant blocker he had been over the better part of the last eight seasons. He wasn't driving players off the ball like he used to and couldn't offer much in the way of versatility.
That's why undrafted rookie Glenn Gronkowski made the final roster. A strong performance Thursday night along with the versatility to be a move tight end and operate in space earned him a spot on the 53-man squad.
Manny Lawson, who missed most of training camp with a partially torn pectoral muscle, played deep into the final preseason game Thursday night, which was perhaps a signal that his time with the Bills was running out.
The Bills took steps to address their linebacker position over the last couple of days trading for OLB Lerentee McCray while also picking ILB Ramon Humber up off waivers.
Veteran OLB Kroy Biermann also did not make the cut after signing with the team midway through training camp.
DT Marcell Dareus will be placed on the Reserve/Suspended list to get the roster down to 53.
Here is the full list of player releases.
TE Blake Annen
OLB Kroy Biermann
WR Jarrett Boykin
CB Mario Butler
WR Kain Colter
DT Brandon Deaderick
DL Lavar Edwards
FB Jerome Felton
RB Boom Herron
LB Randell Johnson
OLB Manny Lawson
WR Dez Lewis
OL Marquis Lucas
OT Chris Martin
CB Sterling Moore
G Cyril Richardson
CB Sammy Seamster
OLB Max Valles
C Fernando Velasco
DT Casey Walker
RB James Wilder Jr.
