The Buffalo Bills Cut Roster to 53 Players: A Few Surprises

Th e Buffalo Bills , along with the rest of the NFL, had to cut down their roster to 53 players by 4 pm on Tuesday afternoon.

While a few cuts were reported on earlier in the day, it wasn't until just before 6 pm that the Bills officially announced who they had released from the roster and there were a few surprises.

Here is the list of cuts from the Bills.

The biggest surprises are wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins, tight end Jacob Hollister and long snapper Reid Ferguson.

Ferguson will be brought back to the active roster, according to The Athletic's Joe Buscaglia .

As for Hodgins and Hollister, it appears that Hodgins was just a victim of the numbers game at wide receiver and injuries hindered his chance to make the team. He can still be brought back to the practice squad.

Hollister may be a vested veteran, which means he's brought back to the roster after the Bills work out some roster details like placing some players on IR (Harrison Phillips, Isaiah McKenzie, Tommy Sweeney). It remains to be seen if Hollister is brought back, but this means that Tommy Sweeney has made the Bills roster, as did FB/TE Reggie Gilliam, who is a special teams ace as well.

Get our free mobile app

The Bills did in fact keep 10 defensive lineman -- four at defensive tackle and six at defensive end.

As for the quarterbacks, just Josh Allen and Mitch Trubisky are on the active roster. Davis Webb and Jake Fromm had almost no chance to make the roster because of the depth at other positions, but one or both will be brought back to the practice squad.

Webb is a valuable asset as a player-coach, so he has high odds to be brought back to the practice squad. Fromm might be a coin-flip. He could also get claimed.

The Bills should have their practice squad set by tomorrow. There's also the possibility of a potential trade that gets made before the season.