Who will get squeezed for playing time?
There’s never a solid number of players the Bills have to keep at a certain position on their roster. Having said that, it’s usually a good bet that there will be four players along the defensive end position. Maybe three, maybe five. But the Bills currently head to training camp with about double that total battling for spots.
McDermott has many options within this group. The combination of skills and strengths give the coach numerous combinations to fit any situation on the field. One challenge may be keeping everyone happy. There’s only a finite number of snaps, so someone is bound to have their playing time diminished.
Incumbents in Hughes and Murphy have newcomers and returners to deal with, which includes Addison, Bryan Cox Jr., Epenesa, Johnson, Mike Love and Jonathan Woodard to consider when training camp begins. And again, the curve ball: Jefferson. If he’s in the fold, is he playing more on the inside of the defensive line? So is there room for four others on the edge? In doing so, we can consider Hughes, Epenesa, and Addison locks for the roster.
So the biggest question and candidate maybe on the outside looking in for snaps could be Murphy. The Bills could save near $8 million in cap space by cutting him as well, since other options like Love or Johnson could be cheaper options to replace Murphy’s mostly limited production.
A big training camp awaits this entire group.
Trent Murphy's 4th sack of the season is VERY close to a safety. #Bills #Dolphins pic.twitter.com/6ClBRBU4iX
— Nick (@Nick_Wojton) December 2, 2018