Defensive end (4)
Mario Addison, Jerry Hughes, AJ Epenesa, Darryl Johnson
Cuts: Mike Love, Darryl Johnson, Trent Murphy, Bryan Cox Jr.
Last year, Darryl Johnson was the No. 4 the rotation McDermott runs on his defensive line, but he was a distant four as the Bills didn’t trust him much on the field and his snaps decreased after the start of the year. However, he’s young, has potential, plays special teams, and perhaps more importantly, Johnson has a better chance of being claimed on waivers than guys like Mike Love or Bryan Cox. That could give Johnson the slight edge like Fromm does over Webb at QB. At minimal, one of Love or Cox would sneak onto the practice squad.
But the reason you’re all looking here: Trent Murphy. Does he have more proven talent than Johnson, Cox and Love? Yes. Still, Murphy’s way too much of a cap casualty to keep. The Bills would receive around $8 million in cap space by letting him go, and we’ve essentially heard very little about him during training camp. While that $8M won’t go far right now, if it rolls over into the 2021 salary cap, less Murphy could mean more Matt Milano.
As the team’s top 2020 draft pick, Epenesa stays. 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 him from Buffalo’s coaching staff.
A.J. Epenesa's first collegiate sack was against @JoshAllenQB…
and we're glad it won't happen again!
đź“ş: @IowaOnBTN pic.twitter.com/RXuEb79FJQ
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) April 25, 2020