Three Massive Decisions Joe Brady Will Need To Make Before Cutdown Day

Preseason football is officially over for the Buffalo Bills. Now comes the hard part. Cutdown day is this Sunday, August 30th, at 6 pm. They will have to decide who is going to make the 53-man roster and who will either go to the practice squad or be sent packing.

Joe Brady is going to face some of the biggest decisions of his coaching career this weekend. He said in his press conference follwing the game against Pittsburgh that it was something he wasn't looking forward to, and no one can blame him. He's going to be deciding what's right for the Buffalo Bills, and probably changing the lives of some of those players forever.

He's got a ton of really big decisions in front of him. Here are three that he's going to have to address:

1. What are they going to do with all those running backs?

It's a good problem to have. The Buffalo Bills have a ton of really great running backs. We already know what James Cook can do. Ray Davis is a very capable backup. Ty Johnson is a favorite of Josh Allen's, and right now he's out with an undisclosed injury. But as you get further down the roster, you've got Frank Gore Jr., who showed real vision and explosiveness this preseason, and newcomer Ian Wheeler both fighting for a spot too.

You hate to lose any of them, so how do you keep as many as possible? Will they pass through waivers to make it to the practice squad or will someone steal them away?

2. Who is your punt returner?

The Bills' special teams has been questionable so far this year. Mecole Hardman hasn't really flashed as a returner. Last night, Ray Davis took a big number of punts and dropped one. It's a mistake you cannot have from your punt returner.

Will Hardman even make the cut?

The good news is that this one can change throughout the year. If you pick one and he's not working out, you can always change direction. However, if you let a player go, and they go somewhere else, it's pretty slim chances that you'll get them back again.

3. How many linebackers will the Bills choose to keep?

This position seems to be an achilles heel for the Bills every year at playoff time. It feels like injuries have plagued them at linebacker, mostly from Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard. With Milano gone, the Bills will be depending on younger talent in a very important spot. They've got Dorian Williams and Bernard back this year and rookie Kaleb Elarms-Orr has been impressive. There's a battle between "Buffalo Joe" Andreesen and Keonta Jenkins too. Can they find a way to keep them all for depth? If they do, they're going to have to take a spot from another position group.

I don't envy Brady this weekend

The Bills have a good problem. They aren't looking for players to find any talent. They're trying to wade through all the talent to find the best. But it won't be easy to make those cuts.