Buffalo Bills Roster Moves: What To Do With DBs Tre'Davious White & Jordan Poyer?
The Buffalo Bills are keeping their options open regarding one defensive back and taking a no-matter-what approach with another.
The toughest call here is regarding star cornerback Tre'Davious White, who Bills general manager Brandon Beane said Tuesday is being subjected to the delaying of a decision to put him on the physically unable to perform list.
"We're trying to run out the clock here. It gives us another week," Beane said of White. "I know people want answers. Candidly, we don't have them."
They do feel like they have answers on another star DB, safety Jordan Poyer,= who hasn't practiced in nearly three weeks due to an elbow injury. The Bills believe Poyer would be fine to participate if the regular season was here - which it of course will be shortly.
Beane said that the team wants Poyer to be as close to 100-percent healthy as possible for the Sept. 8 season-opener at the defending Super Bowl champion Rams.
Poyer and Micah Hyde make up a premium safety tandem. The two-time Pro Bowl selection White, who tore his ACL during a Thanksgiving Day win over the New Orleans Saints last year., further fortifies a great secondary. But he's been on the PUP list throughout training camp.
The Bills' choices are simple: They can activate White and include him on their Week 1 roster, hoping he plays soon. Or they can place him on reserve/PUP before the final roster cut deadline next Tuesday, locking him in to missing the first four games of the regular season.
The 53-man roster is a juggling act; if the Bills keep him on it, and he's not ready early? A spot, in a sense, has been wasted. But White, 27, on the field? No "waste'' there, as was a first-team All-Pro selection in 2019 and a Pro Bowler in 2019 and 2020.
This week, as they approach Friday's preseason-closer at Carolina, the Bills traded "disappointing'' lineman Cody Ford to Arizona. Buffalo released two other vet names, receiver Tavon Austin and punter Matt Haack (meaning the rookie "Punt God'' Matt Araiza wins the job), and is keeping lineman Ike Boettger (Achilles) on the PUP list entering the regular season.
