3 biggest surprises from Buffalo Bills roster deadline day: A trade out of the blue, release of fan favorite, and more
The Buffalo Bills have put the finishing touches on their initial 53-man roster ahead of Week 1. Here are the biggest surprises from deadline day and amongst a roster that Buffalo hopes can compete for a championship.
The Buffalo Bills had a busy weekend, trading away players and making plenty of moves to get their initial 53-man roster set ahead of Week 1.
But like most teams, some hard decisions had to be made, and some good players had to be cut. Here are the most surprising moves from roster deadline day in Buffalo.
Waiving UDFA CB Kani Walker
Walker was a preseason standout (INT and PBUs, especially vs. Carolina) and a popular camp story at a thin position. The Bills still kept only three dedicated boundary corners — Christian Benford, Maxwell Hairston, and rookie Davison Igbinosun — after GM Brandon Beane had talked up needing depth there. They also cut seventh-rounder Toriano Pride Jr. The hope is to get Walker back on the practice squad, but exposing a productive young corner to waivers is the riskiest-looking call of the weekend.
Trading C Sedrick Van Pran-Granger to Indianapolis
Buffalo sent the 2024 fifth-round pick (plus a 2027 seventh) to the Colts for a 2027 sixth. Van Pran-Granger had 31 regular-season games and two starts in two years; the Bills decided Lloyd Cushenberry had locked down backup center and they already had center-capable depth in Alec Anderson and Austin Corbett. Moving a homegrown interior lineman they drafted three years ago, rather than just waiving him, was the most unexpected transaction.
Keeping four tight ends (Keleki Latu) and no fullback
Latu, an undrafted 2025 practice-squad holdover, made the 53 after a strong camp as a blocker. The Bills cut FB Ben VanSumeren and are not replacing Reggie Gilliam. Four TEs is uncommon; it protects 12/13 personnel if someone gets hurt and treats Latu as a higher “flight risk” on waivers than a devalued fullback they can try to re-sign to the practice squad. Combined with only five wide receivers and no dedicated veteran returner (Mecole Hardman and Dante Pettis both gone), the skill-position mix is leaner than many expected.
