Bills Could Cut Draft Pick & Buffalo Staple, Predicts Insider
Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane has admitted that ahead of the process of finalizing the 53-man roster, the team will be experiencing "heartache" while making some inevitable cuts.
And according to Buffalo News insider Jay Skurski, that could come from some of the roster decisions made in the secondary.
Skurski recently revealed his 53-man roster projections, and thinks that the Bills will part ways with cornerback Cam Lewis and seventh-round pick Alex Austin.
“In this projection, the team is cutting a draft pick (Austin), a former third-round draft pick who has made 26 career starts and is just 24 years old (Cameron Dantzler Dantzler) and two players the organization has spent significant time developing (Ja’Marcus Ingram and Cam Lewis),” he wrote.
Of course, these moves will be tough for Beane and the front office to make considering that Lewis is a former University at Buffalo standout and Austin was the Bills' final pick of the 2023 NFL Draft in April.
But there's some solid depth at cornerback for Buffalo, and these two could be the odd ones out. It's obviously going to be tough beating out vets like Tre’Davious White, Dane Jackson, Taron Johnson while also competeting with the talent of Christian Benford and Kaiir Elam.
Austin was talked highly of by Beane upon being drafted.
“Austin at the end, you’re kind of coming down to ‘who’s got the best chance to help?’” Beane said. “We just hadn’t had a defensive back, so we liked him and what we think he can add to the team.”
Additionally, the former Oregon State Beaver told reporters after the draft how excited he was to play alongside Oregon State great Jordan Poyer. However, Austin will have to prove himself in training camp in order to make this a season-long OSU affair.
“Jordan Poyer, he’s a Beaver legend," Austin said. "I’m excited to be able to get up there and work with him, be beside him and be able to learn some things from him. I know he’s been in the league for a very long time and he’s a veteran, so I look forward to just taking on the little bro role and getting to learn and soak up as much knowledge as I can from him."
Nothing is set in stone yet. Training camp injuries often occur to projected starters and undrafted guys come out of nowhere to prove they belong. Anything can happen ahead of the 53-man roster getting finalized.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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