Bills general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Joe Brady held press conferences prior to Tuesday's practice to provide detailed thoughts on Buffalo's roster going into the 2026 regular season.

Here are five takeaways on the state of the Bills roster.

Flexibility at cornerback

On paper, the Bills are light at their boundary corner position. Aside from veteran Christian Benford, Buffalo's "pure" boundary CBs are second-year player Maxwell Hairston and rookie Davison Igbinosun. But digging deeper reveals hidden flexibility on the roster the Bills can rely on if needed.

"I feel really good about what's on the 53, I do," Beane said Tuesday. "Assuming you can stay healthy, that's the one thing you can never predict. Obviously Christian speaks for himself. I'm excited about Max, IGB, and Dee Alford."

The inclusion of the fifth-year Alford among that grouping is particularly noteworthy. While he is slotted to be Buffalo's starting nickel cornerback, the Bills believe the 28-year-old Alford has the ability to play on the outside should he be needed to. That would push second-year defensive back Jordan Hancock into the nickel role.

"That's the great thing about Dee, he is our starting nickel, but Jordan Hancock's done a nice job. If we feel like we need to move Dee outside for an injury or whatever's going on, we can do that as well," Beane explained. "As we build our roster in different positions, we're trying to have guys like the Hancock's of the world that can play [multiple spots].

After the final preseason game, head coach Joe Brady gave an endorsement to Hairston, who he named the team's second starting boundary corner opposite Benford. Beane backed that decision, saying "we have a lot of confidence" in the 2025 first-round pick.

Still, the team has yet to determine if the starting role means playing every snap or using a rotation with Igbinosun, similar to what Buffalo did with Hairston and veteran Tre'Davious White.

"I don't really know at this point what we'd do," Beane shared. "I think we're just taking it one day and one week at a time. I wouldn't want to put us in a box of saying what we would or wouldn't do. I think anything would be on the table. Whatever we think can help us win. If it's a platoon, we'll do it. If it's just one guy, we'll do that."

Why the Bills decided to go heavy with four tight ends

The Bills went heavier in their tight end room this year keeping four on the 53-man roster compared to three last year. The one newcomer to the group is Keleki Latu. Latu was on the practice squad last season as an undrafted rookie. The 6-foot-7 tight end played in five games last year and recorded four catches for 35 yards.

General manager Brandon Beane believes Latu earned a roster spot due to his growth on the field over the last year.

"The passing game was there last year, but I think this guy really focused on his play strength and his run blocking, being a more complete tight end," Beane said. "He's a longer levered guy, so it's easier for guys to get up under his pads, but him just getting his leverage, getting his hands, his angles … It's a hard room to make … He earned that opportunity."

Head coach Joe Brady saw Latu's commitment last year – taking extra coaching, living in the weight room, taking advantage of any chances that came his way. Brady believes that type of effort translated into a strong camp and preseason.

"He's so solid and so consistent with what he's doing. He's a guy that can line up in a lot of different roles, and it brings more versatility to that tight end room," Brady said. "And you have four guys, all the different personnel groupings we can do with it, moving guys around, and it should make my life a little easier."

With four tight ends, the Bills decided to not keep a fullback on the initial roster. Coming to that decision wasn't easy, but Brady thinks the tight end room offers plenty of different personnel groupings which will help the offense overall.

"We have to find a way to build our best 53, and some of that is also taking into consideration what the 48 is going to look like," Brady said. "And the fortunate thing we have is such a unique tight end room that you have the ability to build a lot of different structures and play 10 personnel sets, 20 personnel sets and do a lot of different things with that. So, that's part of it."

Four tight ends do open the playbook in a lot of different ways. The players that makeup the group also open things up – Dalton Kincaid has elite hands, Dawson Knox is a threat in the red zone, Jackson Hawes is way more than just a blocker and Latu is becoming a trusted weapon. Tight end is a clear strength of Buffalo's roster in 2026.

Shaq Thompson makes his return to Buffalo

After spending the offseason in free agency, LB Shaq Thompson is making his return to Buffalo for a second season in a row. The 32-year-old played a big role for the Bills in 14 games last year, making the decision to bring him back an easy one.

"Shaq was instrumental to us last year. He was a perfect example of a guy that, you didn't know how much he was going to end up playing," Brady said. "Then next thing you know, the unfortunate reality with some of the injuries, and he had to take a big role."

Making the trip back to Western New York, Thompson has already showcased some of his most impactful attributes. As a 12-year veteran, his intelligence at the linebacker position is something that can't be taught.

"Some of our coaches on the defensive side that hadn't met him; he got in here last night, and they were like, 'Man, I've seen this guy from afar. I'm just blown away in 10 minutes talking to him,'" Beane said.

As enticing as his veteran leadership qualities are, Thompson proved he can still play at a high level as well in 2025. His value both on and off the field will be huge for Buffalo throughout a long season ahead.

"He was a leader for us last year; But he's not here just to be a leader," Brady said. "He's here because if an opportunity opens up, we feel comfortable with Shaq being able to play football. But while he's there, he understands what this is like, and the value that he brings to our defense, to our offense, to our football team is huge."

Thompson didn't participate in training camp this year, with both the Bills and Thompson agreeing it was better to preserve his body for when he hits the field in the regular season.

"Shaq and I talked off and on all offseason through the last month, and I think he's at his point in his career where it's probably smarter to not beat yourself up through a training camp," Beane said.

"But we've got to kind of ramp him up; You can't replicate football," Beane added. "He's been trying to stay in shape. We'll try to get him in quote-unquote football shape… I don't know yet when Shaq will be ready to roll. We'll take that kind of one week at a time."

The punt returner job is still up for grabs

One position still up for grabs is the punt returner job. The Bills have multiple options they're happy with, it's just about figuring out who's best for the job.

"I can't tell you who's going to line up Week 1 yet," Beane said. "We're kind of sorting through that as we go into the next couple of weeks."

Brady agrees that it's a priority to figure out over the next two weeks.

"I think we have a healthy group of guys that can go out there and get the job done," Brady said. "We have guys that have done it in live games. We have guys that haven't but have showed and got a lot of the work to have that opportunity."

The options the staff is considering are running back Ray Davis, wide receiver Khalil Shakir, cornerback Dee Alford and practice squad wide receiver Greg Dortch.

"Ray, we've obviously given some opportunities," Beane said. "I know he had the one muff. Still, something we're working with him on, and we brought in Greg Dortch yesterday, added him to the practice squad. He's had a lot of success as a dual returner in the league."

Dortch most recently played for the Arizona Cardinals from 2021-25. He had 16 punt returns for 185 yards and 31 kick returns for 811 yards in 2025. He also overlapped with wide receivers coach Drew Terrel from 2023-25 and special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers from 2019-25 in Arizona.

"Whenever you get into these situations where there's guys available, and you have connections and relationships with them, it does make life easier," Brady said. "And they both obviously had really good things to say (about Dortch). We evaluated him going into free agency … I've never had an opportunity to work with him. Just met him for the first time today, so excited to be able to get on the football field and see what value he can bring to us.

Injury Updates

Beane provided details on several players who are dealing with injuries, including S C.J, Gardner-Johnson, ILB Terrel Bernard and more. His full comments are broken down in greater detail in this injury analysis article.

The offensive line gets one addition and one subtraction

Former top-10 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, OT Jedrick Wills Jr. was brought in to add competition and depth in the offensive line room. After sitting out the 2025 season to rehab an injury, the 27-year-old joins the Bills practice squad eager to be back in an NFL building.

"I talked to him about it a little bit [on Monday], just what the year off was like," Beane said. "He was like, 'Man, it killed me. I missed ball and missed being with my teammates.' This time of year, like everyone, there's tough days in this business that you don't miss. But he missed the grind, being out there with his teammates, and is excited to be back."

Wills Jr. spent training camp with the Chicago Bears, seeing playing time in the team's first two preseason games. Despite coming up short of a roster spot, Buffalo saw impressive stuff out of the tackle, hoping a change of scenery can get him back on the right path.

"I watched his tape at Chicago. I told him, I said, 'Your feet looked really good. I just thought there were some technique things to clean up,'" Beane said.

Before bringing Wills Jr. into the building, the Bills traded away a different offensive lineman in former 2024 fifth-round pick Sedrick Van Pran-Granger to the Indianapolis Colts.

Veteran C Lloyd Cushenberry III put together a great camp in his first season in Buffalo, solidifying himself as a mainstay. Van Pran-Granger was then the odd man out, with Beane flipping him and a 2027 seventh-round pick for a 2026 sixth-rounder.

"[Cushenberry III's] experience, there's nothing that Sedrick could really do to compete against that," Beane said. "So when you're looking at numbers and how you're gonna get up, I just think if we kept him, if we're healthy, he was gonna be inactive for games."

Deciding to move on from Van Pran-Granger wasn't an easy decision, but one that Beane decided was best for both parties.

"You don't wanna just harbor him here without a clear vision; And so there were a couple teams that reached out, seeing our depth," Beane said. "… I wish him nothing but the best. He's a pro's pro, and I hope it works out well for him there in Indy."