Niagara Gazette

‘Andreessen spent the day at home in Lancaster — where he will be one of the few NFL players to live with his parents — and that dreaded phone call never came. For the Bills, the call only comes when a player doesn’t make the team.’

‘“There was so many mixed emotions,” Codrington said Wednesday. “I didn’t know. Am I going to make the Jets? Am I going to get cut? Am I going to be on the practice squad? Next thing I know, I’m with another team. It just felt good (to be wanted).”’

‘There were a few eyebrow-raising moves, like trading swapping 2026 late-round picks with the New York Jets to add rookie cornerback and return specialist Brandon Codrington, a North Carolina Central product who had a 63-yard kick return and a 31-yard punt return during the preseason. That led to the Bills waiving sixth-round pick Daequan Hardy, who had been the team’s top returner during the preseason.’

‘The 2021 first-round pick played almost exclusively on the left side during his first two NFL seasons, but with Leonard Floyd and Von Miller favoring that position, Rousseau was moved around frequently last season, finishing with five sacks, down from eight in 2022. With Floyd off to San Francisco, Rousseau is back in his natural spot and that could help him get to the quarterback more often.’

‘“Special teams is how I got in this league,” Shavers said. “… I don’t feel any differently about special teams than I do about offense. I look at it as another opportunity to make a play.”’

‘Shavers is still the wild-card here. The eye test and the reps indicate Shavers should be on the final roster, but it’s hardly a guarantee. Hamler has fallen behind Daequan Hardy as a returner, while Shorter has struggled with drops during training camp. Valdes-Scantling (neck) could be a cutdown-day IR candidate and his contract is already guaranteed.’

‘Through the first two preseason games, Solomon appears to be in the lead position, not only because he’s been the first of the group to enter both games, but also due to the fact that teams prefer not to cut draft picks. Meanwhile, this is Jonathan’s third training camp with the Bills and he made the final roster outright last season, appearing in 13 games.’

‘Veteran linebacker Nicholas Morrow was signed in the offseason to add to the team’s linebacker depth, but a groin injury that caused him to miss a game for the Philadelphia Eagles last year was re-aggravated during the spring, which kept him out of minicamp and then exacerbated it again, causing Morrow to miss eight practices and two preseason games.’

‘“You can understand the rhythm that they play at, the type of things they like to take away,” Coleman said. “And then from watching the film, taking into account the guys they’re probably going against are not, you know, the same size or your speed and could do the different things that you can do. So just imagining how I would stop myself, pretty much, is the same way they are imagining how to stop me when I’m going out there.”’

‘Although Bishop hasn’t been on the field, he’s been able to learn from a veteran group of safeties, especially Edwards, who have played a combined 480 NFL games and 295 starts. Watching from the sidelines has given Bishop a different perspective as he tries to learn Buffalo’s defensive system.’

‘Safeties Cole Bishop (shoulder) and Mike Edwards (hamstring), along with linebacker Nicholas Morrow (groin), plan to participate during walkthroughs and individual drills this week, while the Bills also hope defensive end Casey Toohill (groin) returns later in the week. But there’s also a long list of players who are going to miss time.’

‘The Lancaster native got the start after the Buffalo Bills opted to sit out starting middle linebacker Terrel Bernard and injuries kept back ups Baylon Spector and Nicholas Morrow from playing. Andreessen made a team-high 12 tackles in a little more than a half of action, showing he may have a future in the NFL.’

‘Andreessen, considered to be a longshot to make the final roster, made a team-high 12 tackles as he played through the first drive of the third quarter in Buffalo’s 9-3 preseason win over the Pittsburgh Steelers Saturday. “When a young guy gets an opportunity and he makes the most of it, it’s fun to watch a young man like that,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “… You love stories like that. Real happy for Joe.”’

‘It could be the last chance to see some of the starters, specifically Allen, before the regular season begins. Allen has not played three preseason games since 2019, when it was a four-game slate instead of three.’

‘If the Bills place Milano on the injured reserve before the final cutdown date, he won’t be able to play for the remainder of the season. That means the Bills would have to release another player if they choose to add to their linebacker depth before the start of the year.’