The Staggering Number of New Players on the Bills' Roster Will Shock You

The Buffalo Bills have undergone many distinct changes this offseason, particularly in leadership with first-year head coach Joe Brady taking over for Sean McDermott.

What has been less discussed is the team’s staggering roster turnover, which has included several new players joining the team and various former Bills departing the organization in one way or another. In total, the Bills have 51 new players on their 91-man roster, as was pointed out by One Bills Live host Chris Brown.

That’s a 56% difference from a season ago at this time.

Now let’s examine how we got here.

Trimming the fat from the old guard

Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano (58) reacts after a sack against the New England Patriots during the second half at Gillette Stadium. | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

The players the Bills have moved on from include a few big-time contributors from a season ago.

Starting left guard David Edwards signed a free-agent deal with the New Orleans Saints, while starting edge rusher Joey Bosa hasn’t been re-signed as he remains a free agent. Additionally, longtime Bills defenders, cornerback Tre’Davious White and linebacker Matt Milano, are each still on the open market.

Linebacker Shaq Thompson, wide receivers Curtis Samuel and Gabe Davis, safety Taylor Rapp, along with defensive tackles DaQuan Jones and Jordan Phillips, among a few others, are also remaining free agents.

Buffalo also traded former All-Pro nickel cornerback Taron Johnson and veteran Jordan Poyer appears set for retirement. A few other player exits included former swing tackle Ryan Van Demark, backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky, fullback Reggie Gilliam and defensive back Cam Lewis, all of whom signed free-agent deals with other teams.

Bolstering the Bills' roster

Of course, there were many players, such as punter Mitch Wishnowsky, acquired midseason in 2025, adding to the total of 51 different players on this year’s Bills roster.

As far as offseason additions made by the Bills, Buffalo kicked things off with a trade for WR DJ Moore, then signed another big fish, edge rusher Bradley Chubb, in free agency. Other free-agent finds included new starting nickel cornerback Dee Alford, new starting safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, offensive linemen Austin Corbett and Lloyd Cushenberry, along with edge rusher Michael Danna and others.

Then there are the 10 rookies the Bills added through the draft, first and foremost, second-round EDGE T.J. Parker. Buffalo also brought in CB Davison Igbinosun, OL Jude Bowry, WR Skyler Bell, LB Kaleb Elarms-Orr, S Jalon Kilgore, DT Zane Durant, CB Toriano Pride Jr., punter Tommy Doman Jr. and OL Ar’maj Reed-Adams.

Additionally, the Bills signed 12 undrafted free agents, including OL Bruno Fina, the son of legendary Bills offensive lineman John Fina.

What will come of Buffalo's roster moves?

New Bills head coach Joe Brady talks about some of his vision as coach at the Bills field house in Orchard Park on Jan. 29, 2026. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It’s been an exciting offseason, one that has brought with it a change at head coach, change elsewhere among the coaching staff, particularly defensive coordinator with the hiring of Jim Leonhard, and many changes in personnel to suit his new 3-4 base defense.

Time will tell if the Bills’ drastic transition will pay off with increased success. But at the beginning of the offseason, general manager/president of football operations Brandon Beane said that a transformation was coming, and the organization has followed through in that regard.

According to Brown, typically teams experience a 25-30% shift from one year to the next. With the Bills facing nearly double that in 2026, the cards could fall any number of ways. Whether the Bills sink or swim will come down to whether they made the right decisions moving on from several players and if their crop of new talent can significantly boost the many areas of need with which the team entered the offseason.

Of the new players added this offseason, 15 came on the defensive side of the ball, 16 on offense and one on special teams. Buffalo has seemingly turned over every stone in pursuit of a fresh look up and down the roster. We’ll see if it works out.

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