Bills 53-man roster projection following first week of training camp

A Buffalo Bills 53-man roster projection with seven days of training camp practices in 2020 in the books.

Bills defensive end Mario Addison. (James P. McCoy/The Buffalo News via AP, Pool)

Defensive end (4)

Mario Addison, Jerry Hughes, AJ Epenesa, Bryan Cox Jr.

Cuts: Mike Love, Trent Murphy, Darryl Johnson

Jerry Hughes, your longest-tenured Bill, returns, and hopefully Mario Addison has plenty left in the tank to provide some help for Hughes across from him on Buffalo’s D-line. The Bills do run a rotation along the trenches on defense though, so AJ Epenesa will still see snaps as a rookie. Plus, it’s been revealed that Epenesa has lined up at all four spots along the defensive line during training camp. That’s some massive trust in their rookie.

Last year, Darryl Johnson was the No. 4 in that rotation, but he was a distant four as the Bills didn’t trust him much on the field. That could clear the way for Bryan Cox Jr., who’s also had a strong camp himself. But who really clears the way is Trent Murphy. By cutting him, the Bills save $8M against the salary cap, as he’s been mostly unproductive in his Bills career. Murphy has had a decent camp by some accounts, but with the uncertain future with the salary cap in 2021, it makes too much sense. Some see Murphy as a trade candidate, but that seems like an unlikely thing due to his contract.