Bills' History, Roster Underdog's Play Suggest Fullback Remains in Joe Brady's Plans

They've been an endangered species in NFL circles for more than a decade now, but the Buffalo Bills have bucked the trend.

The Bills are one of the few teams who haven't, even partially, abandoned the fullback.

Whether it was former Pro Bowler Pat DiMarco for the first three years of general manager Brandon Beane's tenure or Reggie Gilliam for the next six seasons, the Bills have consistently kept a fullback in their arsenal. It's worth noting that Buffalo employed four different offensive coordinators over the aforementioned nine-year span, and the fullback position survived every change.

Needing to identify a replacement for Gilliam, who left in free agency, the Bills entered training camp with two fullbacks on the 90-man roster.

When they cut undrafted rookie Jackson Acker, leaving converted linebacker Ben VanSumeren as the only fullback on the 90-man roster, however, it raised the question of whether or not a fullback would be in the team's regular season plans.

"I would have loved to have kept two even through this point, but with some of the injury situations, some of the moves, it was unfortunate that we had to make a move," said rookie head coach Joe Brady. "We're still evaluating is it a position and a role that we'll be able to have on our football team."

During the 2025 season with Brady as the offensive coordinator, the Bills deployed Gilliam for 21 percent of the offense's snaps. Brady made it a point to highlight Gilliam's value on two separate occasions last summer with his comments suggesting an appreciation for the position.

Ben VanSumeren makes his case

The Bills took a hard look at VanSumeren during the August 22 preseason road game against the Cleveland Browns.

Buffalo used a fullback on 19 offensive snaps, equating to 32 percent of the time, and VanSumeren proved valuable in the run game.

"Ben has a great mentality of the way that he plays football, and he's still learning the position," said Brady. "The more opportunities he has at it, the more he has an opportunity to display if that can be a vision and a role for him."

If the Bills are to use a roster spot for a fullback, it will almost certainly come with the expectation of contributing to the kicking and return units. In a positive sign, VanSumeren logged a team-high 16 special teams reps against the Browns.

Bills' new offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael and fullbacks

It's worth noting that Bills' new offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael kept a fullback in his arsenal when coaching quarterback Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints gave Heath Evans a heavy volume of reps, especially in the run game, during the 2009 and 2010 seasons with Carmichael serving as offensive coordinator under Sean Payton.

Next, Jed Collins played more than 30 percent of snaps for the Saints from 2011 through 2013.

Add it all up, and VanSumeren is no longer a roster long shot.

— Sign up for OnSI’s Free Buffalo Bills Newsletter —

Add us as a preferred source on Google