Buffalo Bills set practice squad, including QB Mike White + Brandon Beane comments on initial roster

the Buffalo Bills initial practice squad is set plus we got some clarity on roster moves from Brandon Bean we're going to break it all down for you here today on lock on [Music] bills you are locked on bills your daily Buffalo Bills podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day what's up bills Mafia Joe Marino author of go bills and Buffalo's run also the co-host of the lockon NFL scouting podcast and I'm your host of lockon bills want to thank you for making lockdown bills your first listen every day and a big welcome and shout out to our every dayers you know who you are those of you who never miss a single episode I appreciate yall being here very very much I'd also like to invite you to subscribe or follow for free on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts we're part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day today's episode is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase terms apply what time is it game time well folks welcome in got some things to break down here for you in what I guess I'm going to label a mini episode of lock on bills I want to talk about the initial practice squad that has been set by the Buffalo Bills and some of the commentary coming from Brandon Bean about the initial 53 man roster that was set yesterday and so let's do that I want to start by reflecting on a few of the comments that Brandon Bean offered because it gives us Clarity on the 53 man roster and I think the first thing I'll acknowledge is that he said no players currently on the 53 are expected to be placed on injured reserve which is great news for a bunch of guys that had some injuries right Mitchell trabis Quinton Morris Marcus valdis scantling Bay ins Spector Nicholas Morrow all the safeties right whether it's bishop or Edwards or dear Hamlin so it's a good sign that the group that the bills have assembled as the 53 is expected to be healthy for week one or at least healthy enough to avoid injure Reserve so that's a good start there Brandon Bean was also asked about putting a kicker on the practice squad we'll talk about who's on the practice squad in just a moment but he said they didn't consider adding a kicker to the practice squad and really defended Tyler bass and it it remains pretty obvious to me that whether we like it or not the team is very committed to Tyler bass and he pointed to the resume that exists in Buffalo Beyond kind of his more recent struggles that they're clinging to and I know that they're kind of stuck in a tough spot with the contract which is really probably the ultimate reason why Tyler bass is firm in his job as a bills kicker be a tough pill to swallow to not only move on from Tyler bass and and bring in an unknown commodity at kicker but also the dead cap space that you'd have to eat this year and next over $7 million so the team's messaging remains very consistent that they're committed to Tyler bass and that they did not even consider adding a kicker the practice squad which is something I would have advocated for especially a couple of recent rookie draft picks in Chad Ryland and Anders Carlson guys that were drafted last year that were cut by the Packers and the Patriots that you could have just put on the practice squad that's not something the bills seem to be interested in doing Brandon Bean also commented on the decision to release dayquon Hardy who's back on the practice squad again we'll talk about the actual practice squad here in just a moment but when asked about why they didn't have him on the initial 53 man roster it confirms what I was suspicious about being said look we drafted him primarily to be a punt returner and he has some some decisionmaking issues that he has to clean up and they just didn't feel comfortable with him filling that role during games he said look week wa week one's coming we don't have time for dayquon Hardy to catch up there and so they're going to put him on the practice squad and give him an opportunity to develop and obviously they felt really good about the guy they traded for Brandon conington who's going to be the bills punt returner and what they've been able to see from him and of course Bean goes in talking about the challenges of Fielding punts in Buffalo and the winds and all of that type of stuff and that decision-making piece that ball handling piece is so important and it to me it is the most important part of being a punt returner I know everyone loves the big returns and um you know touchdowns and all that type of stuff but to me more important than that is can you make good decisions on Fielding the ball and can you take care of it and can you give the ball back to to Josh Allen that's what you mostly want from your punt returner and being said it's it's more than just the ability to actually return the ball and make plays you got to be a good decision maker got to handle the ball well so he kind of confirmed what I was suspicious about what I talked about yesterday on the on the podcast reacting to the initial 53 man roster the other big surprise with the roster was Casey two Hill making the roster and one of my thoughts there as it relates to Casey two Hill making this roster it stems from a question that I got asked a lot over the summer people ask me you know what are this new kickoff rule how is it going to impact roster decisions and I think this could be the fruit of that I think and I've said this I think these bigger body these defensive end with long arms they're going to be an asset for you on the kick coverage and the kick return and so as we try to figure out why is Casey to Hill on this roster I think that could be part of it this is the consequence of of the new kickoff Rule and what the what it means for roster decisions a guy like Casey twohill can make the roster I mean he's 64 250 pounds 33 and a half inch arms ra score of a 969 a tremendous athlete and my favorite thing about Casey two Hill is that he plays with a hot motor so an athletic dude that plays hard what does that say special teams with good size special teams and this new Dynamic kickoff you're GNA want players like Casey to Hill to cover kicks and to block for kicks and so as you're trying to figure this out why he's on the roster I think that's probably the explanation for you again the question I received how is this going to impact roster decisions answer guys like Casey two Hill are going to have a spot now another piece of this conversation that's very interesting is something that was brought to light by S capacho of wgr550 and I think this also plays into the decision to roster Casey T Hill and the bills release Kingsley Jonathan and Kingsley Jonathan is on the practice squad so here's some information that is to me very important in putting the puzzle together and understanding the why Behind these decisions C capacho said this here's something interesting Bill's defensive end Kingsley Jonathan counts as an international pathway player from Nigeria and thus a practice squad exemption so Kingsley Jonathan is on the Bill's practice squad and they get an exempt spot just like remember Christian Wade just like the plan for Travis Clayton now Travis the rugby player the bills drafted this year in the seventh round he's out for the year with a shoulder shoulder injury but the bills can still use the exempt spot the international pathway program spot on Kingsley Jonathan and so here's a text that I got from Chris Jen who's part of our lockon bill subtext Community I encourage you to join that there's a link in today's show notes if you want to be part of it we're doing a lot of fun stuff there you've heard me talk about it Chris shankee said this in a text to me and I think it's worth sharing with everybody he saidis means that Jonathan is a protected practice squad player for the entire time he is on the bills practice squad and Carries that designation outside teams can't touch him per IP rules Jonathan can still be elevated three times this season if they need it and outside teams can't sign him this is a chess not Checker stuff from Brandon Bean so you still get to keep Kingsley Jonathan he can't be plucked off your practice squad you get an extra player on your practice squad and you get to keep Casey two Hill connecting Dots here folks Connecting the Dots here so I wanted to share that with you here which I think are important notes as we have spent the last you know six months talking about building this roster well it's here let's talk about it and I think these are are good pieces of information to share with you so I wanted to get that out of the way here on the other side of it I want to talk about the 16 players that are currently on the bills practice squad and you know some rumors as to who the 17th guy is going to be we'll break that all down for you here on the other side of it folks be sure to stick with me purchasing tickets to an event can be stressful but it doesn't have to if you have the game time app you got to download the game time app game time is the fast and easy way to purchase tickets for all the sports music comedy and Theater events near you the app is awesome it's easy to navigate they give you Flash Deals they give you a seat view and I also love this they specialize in last minute tickets so you know you can't always buy tickets in advance maybe you want to make a last minute decision to go to an event go to game time they got all the great deals on last minute tickets so take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time download the game time app create and account and use code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account and redeem code locked on NFL that's LK o n NFL for $20 off download the game time app today what time is it it's game time all right so who's on the actual practice squad let's go through that and I think this is this is all this is a very good practice squad let me start there this is the mix of players at least for me that I I would have wanted back so a lot of roster roster bubble players that uh we were wondering if they were going to make the 53 and if not could they clear waivers and come back to the practice squad the answer is yes the bills had zero play players claim that they cut in fact only it's it's a crazy statistic but like less than 2.2% of players that were released got claimed off waivers we always get so stressed out about getting players back on the practice squad the reality is it's very rare for a player to be claimed I mean the numbers here are quite staggering there's there's a lot of players that are released every single year and we have this conversation are they going to get him back can they get him back well the answer is yes the the numbers here are quite staggering as it relates to your your probability of getting players back on your practice squad in fact 1,100 and 84 players were released of them 26 were claimed 2.19% of players were claimed courtesy of my buddy Greg tomet who put those numbers together so we could probably stress a little less about that than we typically do I feel like I remind this every year but we always find ourselves back into this spot so who is on the bills practice squad here you go you got two cornerbacks dayquon Hardy and Tori couch excited that dayquon Hardy's back and what's funny is for all the conversation about the punt return stuff I was mostly excited about his cornerback play and so I'm excited for him to be in the pipeline still to Cory couch who has familiarity with Jam aai the Bill's secondary coach I think he flashed quite a bit in the slot during camp and preseason so it's good to get those guys back at corner at defensive end Cameron Klein back on the practice squad Kingsley Jonathan back on the practice squad so you look at the six guys the Bill's rostered plus Kingsley Jonathan you got to feel pretty good about the seven players now you wish you had a miles Garrett or a TJ watt or a Nick Bosa right you don't have that but I think you have some good depth as it relates to the defensive end position at defensive tackle the bills got Branson Dean and elonu back on the practice squad Branson Dean certainly flashed a little bit in that last preseason game with some penetration type skill and then elonu has been a main stay on the practice squad and I I love having him around as a BL a break class in case of emergency guy you just feel like he can come in keep his head above water and help the team as a as a as a defensive tackle so I love keeping him around offensive lineman Mike Edwards Richard garage and will clap back on the practice squad in fact Brandon Bean said that will clap was player 53 on the roster in fact they he said that when they were able to trade for Brandon codrington will clap was the player that got bumped off so you get a veteran and will clap to stick around on the practice squad and then Richard garage who I I think has been a pretty decent player in preseason back-to-back years it's nice to keep him around and then Mike Edwards kind of a flashy guy he's massive I think he's like 65 360 pounds big dude and I think he had his best performance in that last preseason game against the Panthers so I like having a couple of intriguing young guys especially a toolie player like Mike Edwards to go with a veteran like will clap Mike White on the practice squad uh the bills were able to get him that's a a pretty notable storyline that's happened since we last spoke uh the bills signed Mike White to their practice squad and of course most recently with the dolphins with the Jets prior to that and I don't think that much of Mike White as a backup quarterback but in terms of a practice squad player at this point I think it's a pretty solid addition he's had some good games in the NFL and where I think he also provides value is well he spent last year with the Miami Dolphins and so as a qb3 your job is to run the scout team I think that Mike White is going to do a nice job of running that dolphin scout team in week two not to mention the Intel that he can give you on what that offense wants to do and how they game planned against the bills last year right that's very helpful Intel so maybe we get some Dolphins offensive secrets and of course they got Jordan puyer and San Neil so they'll probably get some secrets on that side as well but you know Mike White certainly I think as reasonable of an option as you can have as a practice squad quarterback at this point in the process Frank Gore Jr back on the practice squad good spot for him I know that he won a lot of people over because he's Frank G son and then he had a good preseason now he's got to flesh out his game he's got to learn to play special teams he's got to learn pass protection you know that's going to help him a ton I think he's always goingon to have limitations because he's small and slow but um I think he's a good runner and and that's helpful and it's nice having him around on the practice squad one of my players that I'm really excited is back on the practice squad is Kareem Jackson at safety you know the bills have obviously had turnover at safety and a lot of the guys they're counting on to replace guys been injured right we know Bishop Edwards Hamlin Jackson I think there's just a veteran Savvy knoow about him that I like back on this practice squad and you know they they have obviously five safeties on the roster so it' probably take a bit for him to to have to play but he's a good player to have around and I thought he I thought he very clearly had his best performance of the preseason against Carolina so I'm glad that he's back Zack Davidson back on the practice squad uh as I guess the fourth tight end um making it or signing over Trey mcky I guess that's kind of how I would phrase that and then three wide receivers in Tyrell Shavers KJ hamler and Deion Kane I know that a lot of hype for Tyrell Shavers good that he gets to stay in the pipeline and develop KJ hamler is something different at wide receiver I'm glad that he's still around I think in a absolute pinch he can help you in the return game has some speed Dynamics to him like big play potential I think him taking some handoffs late in game against Carolina gives you some thought that if Curtis Samuel were to get injured that maybe KJ hamler has a chance to come in and do some of those things and then Deon Kane like let's face it Deon Kane was kind of a fun player against Carolina caught three passes for 28 yards but they were all very similar catch the ball make someone Miss get a chunk of yards after the catch and um you know I even from texting with people in the lock down Bill subex Community I think there was a lot of people that were like it looks kind of interesting to me and he was a dude at Clemson he was really productive he was a good player at Clemson has had some injuries and stuff um but I think a reasonable player to keep around on your practice squad so that's the 16 players and the bills have an open spot courtesy of this Kingsley Jonathan information and there's been a lot of Rumblings out there from credible sources that the bills are going to sign Jaylen Virgil to the practice squad and Jaylen Virgil comes over from the Denver Broncos he had the opportunity to go to Denver but he's going to pick Buffalo reportedly because uh he feel was like there's a better opportunity in Buffalo for him but uh Jaylen Virgil out of appalachin state second-year player udfa in 2022 by the Broncos um had a played over like 61 games in college and he's known for his return ability very modest receiving production I think never more than 400 receiving yards in any season at Appalachia State and he played six seasons there uh but very decorated kick returner now he doesn't have any punt return experience so keep that in mind but a lot of kick return production uh three return touchdowns for his career has good size six foot over 200 pounds ran 44 big-time athlete um and his first NFL catch was a 66 yard touchdown reception against the Tennessee Titans so intriguing player uh that is reportedly going to be that 17th player on the practice squad one note here on the practice squad that I think is interesting is that there's no linebacker you kind of have options at every position and potentially four receivers but no line backer now the bills did keep six linebackers um on the active roster so that's helpful but no nobody on the practice squad and you might be thinking about Dion Jones as a candidate but Dion Jones you can only have six players on your practice squad that are vets right you only have six spots and the bills those are filled up now I don't know if Kingsley Jonathan counts towards that or not as an exempt player probably not so they do have potentially a spot there but elonu will clap Mike Mike White Kem Jackson KJ hamler count as veterans on your practice squad I have to fact check the Kingsley Jonathan piece of that as an exemp player I assume he doesn't count maybe he does I don't know that's a confusing one for me but if he does count the bills are out of Veteran spots if he does excuse me if he does count the bills are out of Veteran spots if he doesn't count then they can add one more player that has uh you know not a rookie all right so that's the practice squad and then last thing I want to mention here are the players are truly gone you know every everybody's got to have 37 players that they cut you go from 90 down to 53 37 players are cut you can bring back 16 of those to your practice squad but I'm always interested in the players that are truly gone right they didn't make the 53 they didn't make the practice squad here's the list of players that that applies to for the bills quarterbacks Anthony Brown and Ben denucci wide receivers Justin shorter I guess that's it he's done he's it's not going to be a thing folks deir Xavier Johnson Andy Isabella Andy Isabella also not back on this practice squad tight end Trey mckitty offensive lineman Gunner Britain Kevin Jarvis Lyall Collins and Keaton bills the bills ate some money on Lyall Collins to not keep him around so they're definitely thinking he's done defensive end Rond Del bothroyd defensive tackles Gable stevon DeShaun Williams so interesting on Gable stev and the bills didn't even think it was worth their time to bring him back on the practice squad uh so we'll see what he does like if if is his NFL career over uh is he going to give it another go next year we'll see what happens there DeShawn Williams um I feel like that came down to either elonu or deshun Williams and the reports are that elonu had some options so he winds up picking the bills desan Williams uh not back linebackers Deon Jones Shane Simon Corners Kiren Brown and Kenai lovelyy and then safety Kendall Williamson those your are your players that are truly gone so here there you have it folks I guess this was kind of a a episode maybe not but I wanted to get some analysis to you on the practice squad the players that are truly gone and some of the big nuggets coming out uh of Brandon Bean's press conference looking forward to the rest of the week here on lock on bills we're going to do a stat prediction podcast maybe talk about rookie roles for 2024 plenty to discuss as we get ready for week one against the Arizona Cardinals don't miss anything folks make sure that you're subscribed would love it if you took a second to rate review and share the podcast have a great rest of your day go bill and I look forward to catching up with you again real real soon