Isabella has been with the Bills the shortest amount of time, only signing with the team on July 28th. He did not record a reception in the game against Indianapolis but led the Bills in receiving against Pittsburgh with 5 catches for 47 yards and a touchdown. He did not have a reception in the game against the Steelers.Īt 6’4, 223 lbs., Shorter brings an element of size to the Bills receiving corp. He recorded 2 catches for 25 yards against the Colts, but also had a dropped pass. Shakir has struggled with drops throughout camp but did flash at times in the limited game action he did see last season. At this point it seems to be a three-man race for two spots between 2022 5th round pick Khalil Shakir, 2023 5th round pick Justin Shorter, and former Arizona Cardinals 2nd round pick Andy Isabella. The real competition is for the 5th and 6th receiver spots. Behind Diggs is entrenched number two Gabe Davis, and free agent signees Deonte Hardy and Trent Sherfield. There is no question who the Bills number one target is. There is no drama to be found in the first four receiver spots, outside of whatever it was that was ultimately going on with Stefon Diggs in the spring. The top of the Bills wide receiver depth chart is settled. If Bernard can play against Chicago, it will be interesting to see how much playing time he receives, and if he can make up the ground lost in the competition due to his injury. No one has really separated themselves from the pack, so performance in this game could be critical in determining who mans the middle linebacker spot come opening night against the New York Jets on September 11th. That quickly was pared down to a two-man race between Dodson and Bernard, until Bernard injured his hamstring leading up to the Bills’ first preseason game.ĭodson has taken the majority of the starting snaps since, but rotated with 11th year veteran AJ Klein in the game against Pittsburgh. This could ultimately determine which quarterback wins the backup job on the 53-man roster, and which player most likely heads to the practice squad.Īt the outset of training camp, the battle for the starting middle linebacker position was a three-headed competition between veteran Tyrel Dodson and second year players Terrel Bernard and Baylon Spector. If Josh Allen does not see in the field in the preseason finale, look for Kyle Allen and Barkley to each play about a half. Barkley threw 3 interceptions, while Allen threw for 112 yards and a touchdown, while not committing any turnovers.Īt the time of this writing, it is not yet known if any of the Bills starters will play against the Bears. The script was flipped in the following game against the Pittsburgh Steelers where Allen was the clear better of the two. Barkley was the clear standout from the Bills’ first contest against the Indianapolis Colts, completing 14 of 15 passes for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Kyle Allen went 8/15 for 122 and an interception. Here are three key roster battles still playing out on the Buffalo Bills that still need resolving as the Bills head into their final preseason game to take on the Bears in Chicago, on Saturday August 29th at 1:00pm.īoth Kyle Allen and Matt Barkley have had up and down outings throughout the first two preseason games. While wins and losses don’t matter in the preseason, and the biggest goal (at least for fans) is to get through the games injury free, there is still plenty of competition for roster spots that are worth keeping an eye on between prayers to whatever deity you might believe in for the team to stay healthy. When it comes to preseason football, the attitude of most fans tends to start out as pure excitement that football is back at the start of the first game, and then quickly devolves into some feeling of “please just get through these games without anyone getting hurt”.
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