Orchard Park, NY (WGR) - The Buffalo Bills will wrap up their 2026 preseason at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night. Here are three things to watch
Those final roster spots
On an exclusive Always Gameday in Buffalo podcast, general manager Brandon Beane told Matt Bove and me that there are about "50-ish" spots on the roster they are pretty confident in right now. That would leave maybe three spots available. How do they determine who gets those? Beane said special teams will matter. How many phases of the game a player can play? But he also said you don’t want to sacrifice a player who will really help you at a position just for that, either.
Watching the rotation at a few of these spots may give us some insight into what they ultimately do.
Tyler Bass
Beane also said that the reason they did not bring another kicker in this off-season was because they did not want to have competitions at both punter and kicker at training camp and reiterated his faith in Tyler Bass, who had a perfect 5-for-5 game last Saturday in Cleveland, including a 52 yard field goal.
But with Bass still the only kicker on the roster, whatever chances the team has for kicks in the game will still go to him, and every time he steps on the field is an evaluation from both the organization and fans.
Punt return job
At this point, it feels like It’s Ray Davis’ punt return job to lose. He had a nice 12 yard return against the Brown Saturday, and has taken the first rep at that spot over the first two preseason games. Plus, Mecole Hardman, who would appear to be his biggest competition there, did not practice this week. We will see if he is available to play Thursday night, but right now it’s trending towards Davis winning the job, which would allow the team to not have to burn another roster spot on a return man specifically, and that’s probably the best-case scenario for the roster.
Skyler Bell
We have yet to see Skyler Bell play in any game action. Head coach Joe Brady said he’d love to see him out there Thursday night getting some work in with backup quarterbacks Kyle Allen and Shane Buechele, who are in a battle themselves for the backup QB position.
Bell, a fourth round draft pick who was highly productive at UConn, has dealt with injuries throughout minicamp and training camp. Thursday night will be his best opportunity to get on the field and show that he can contribute to the offense before the team decides how to handle their roster heading into Week One at the Houston Texans.
Outlet Liquor
