ORCHARD PARK - Teams have begun to announce roster decisions around the NFL as the deadline to get down to the NFL-mandated limit of 53 players looms at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

The Buffalo Bills got a head start by making several moves Sunday, none of which were all that surprising, but the toughest calls will start happening Tuesday morning and they will likely trickle in as the hours advance toward the deadline.

We will have all the news as it becomes available right here, so make sure you bookmark this page and visit it often during the day.

Bills have named their 53-man roster

Here's a look at the 53 players who have made the team, for now.

• QB: Josh Allen, Mitchell Trubisky;

• RB: James Cook, Ty Johnson, Ray Davis, Reggie Gilliam (FB);

• WR: Curtis Samuel, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Mack Hollins, Marquez Valdes-Scantling;

• TE: Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox, Quintin Morris;

• IOL: Connor McGovern, O’Cyrus Torrence, David Edwards, Alec Anderson, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger;

• OT: Dion Dawkins, Spencer Brown, Ryan Van Demark, Tylan Grable;

• DE: Greg Rousseau, AJ Epenesa, Von Miller, Dawuane Smoot, Casey Toohill, Javon Solomon;

• DT: Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, Austin Johnson, DeWayne Carter;

• LB: Terrel Bernard, Dorian Williams, Nicholas Morrow, Baylon Spector, Edefuan Ulofoshio, Joe Andreessen;

• CB: Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford, Taron Johnson, Kaiir Elam, JaMarcus Ingram, Brandon Codrington;

• S: Taylor Rapp, Mike Edwards, Cole Bishop, Damar Hamlin, Cam Lewis;

• ST: Tyler Bass (K), Sam Martin (P), Reid Ferguson (LS).

Joe Andreessen has made the roster

One of the longest shots to make the Buffalo Bills when training camp began at St. John Fisher University is apparently going to be on the initial 53-man roster.

New York Upstate is reporting that linebacker Joe Andreessen has been told he’s on the first iteration, though that could obviously change when things start to get fleshed out a bit in the run-up to the regular-season opener against the Cardinals.

Andreessen grew up in the Buffalo suburb of Depew, played at Lancaster High School where he led his team to two Section VI championships and an appearance in one New York State championship game. After attending Bryant University, he came home to play one season at the University at Buffalo and made 90 tackles in 2023, and that warranted a look from the Bills at their tryout camp during rookie minicamp in May.

The 6-foot, 239-pounder showed enough that weekend to sign an undrafted free agent contract, but heading to Pittsford, it seemed impossible that he could make the team.

Instead, he had a terrific camp, during which he flashed consistently in practice, and in the second preseason game against Pittsburgh he thrust himself into the conversation by making 12 tackles. He had eight more against the Panthers last Saturday.

Edge rusher movement as Kameron Cline will be cut

Cline had a tough battle at a stacked position as he was trying to earn a spot in a top five that included Greg Rousseau, AJ Epenesa, Von Miller and Dawuane Smoot, plus rookie fifth-round pick Javon Solomon. Cline was on the Bills practice squad last year and he may be brought back, but that might depend on what happens with Kingsley Jonathan, another edge rusher who was trying to crack that top five.

Bills trade with Jets to acquire kick returner

Brandon Codrington, a cornerback, has been acquired by the Bills in a trade from the Jets, a deal that also includes a swap of late-round 2026 draft picks.

Codrington signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of North Carolina Central, a Football Championship Subdivision level school. As a senior in 2023 he returned 14 punts for 275 yards and two touchdowns of 81 and 85 yards. He also had 20 kickoff returns for 358 yards.

With the Jets, he had a 63-yard kickoff return against the Panthers and totaled six punt returns for 89 yards, meaning he was more productive than anyone the Bills tried on returns.

It has been believed that cornerback Daequan Hardy, the Bills’ sixth-round draft pick, was locked in as the return man, especially with the news that both KJ Hamler and Andy Isabella are being waived later Tuesday.

Now, the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Codrington will apparently get a chance to show what he can do over the next few practices leading to opening day on Sept. 8 against the Cardinals.

What this means for Hardy is uncertain but as of early Tuesday afternoon, there had been no report that the Bills were moving on.

Frank Gore Jr. will be a prime practice squad candidate

The rookie running back and son of former NFL great Frank Gore Jr. rushed for 101 yards Saturday in the preseason finale against the Carolina, but that wasn’t nearly enough to get him over the hump.

The Bills will only carry three running backs on the active roster with James Cook, Ty Johnson and rookie fourth-round pick Ray Davis so there was no room for Gore. However, the Bills almost certainly will try to get him on the practice squad, provided no other team claims him.

Of course that’s a possibility, but there may not be much of a market for a 5-foot-8 undrafted running back. Expect him back in Buffalo Wednesday.

Bills wide receiver depth chart looks set

The news that KJ Hamler is going to be cut pretty much solidifies the wide receiver room, and the Bills will be carrying five, at least for now.

The only receiver who we have not heard about is Deon Cain, and it’s highly unlikely that he’s going to be a sixth receiver in Buffalo. So, the final five are Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, Keon Coleman, Mack Hollins and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

Of course, there could still be a move to be made as several receivers around the league have been released including talented Noah Brown by the Texans, and Terrace Marshall of the Panthers, a player who has ties to offensive coordinator Joe Brady.

Hamler hadn’t shown much as a receiver and his best path to the roster would have been as a return man, but it not looks like rookie cornerback Daequan Hardy is the man the Bills will use on returns.

Olympic wrestling champion Gable Steveson being released

Olympic wrestling gold medalist Gable Steveson, who had never played football before the Bills signed him to a contract in May, is reportedly being cut by the team as it pares down to 53 players.

This, of course, is not a surprise, but also does not necessarily mean his pursuit of a new career is over. The Bills could bring him back to the practice squad as a developmental player, or he could land on another team.

Steveson stands just 6-foot-1 and he weighs 275 pounds, but there were times during the preseason games where he was engulfed by bigger offensive linemen, and he doesn’t yet have the skills and techniques to get off blocks.

Andy Isabella reportedly cut by Bills

It gets a little redundant at this point in the day because there really aren’t any surprises among the reports of players being cut. Isabella belongs in this category. He showed very little as a kick returner and as a receiver he’s too much like Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel in terms of skill set. The more surprising thing is that Isabella once upon a time was a second-round draft pick of the Cardinals in 2019. His release means KJ Hamler and Deon Cain are still clinging to life.

Lael Collins may have announced his departure

Veteran offensive lineman Lael Collins put out a somewhat cryptic tweet that makes it look like he will be released by the Bills.

This another move that would not be a surprise. Collins was signed to be a possible backup at both guard and tackle, but he showed no ability to play on the outside, and the Bills have better and younger options on the inside with Alec Anderson and Sedrick Van Pran-Granger.

Of course, read another way, does this mean Collins is making the team and he's grateful that his "marathon" will continue in Buffalo? Social media is quite a thing.

Where the Buffalo Bills roster stands right now 

So far, 18 players have been reported as cuts. According to the Bills website, the roster stood at 82 players Tuesday morning and the team needs to pare that down to 53 players. The Bills currently list four players on injured reserve (IR) who don't count toward the 53 spots. Notably, the Bills don't list LB Matt Milano on their IR list.

Defensive line starts to thin out

Tackles Eli Ankou and Branson Deen are the latest reported departures, and like many of the others before them, neither is a surprise. Deen had zero chance to make the team, and while Ankou has been a player the Bills have kept around for three years, it has mostly been on the practice squad.

Ankou has had stints during that time with the Steelers, Falcons and Falcons, and before he arrived in Buffalo in 2021, he was with the Texans, Jaguars, Browns, Colts and Cowboys. He originally entered the league with the Texans as an undrafted free agent out of UCLA in 2017.

Yeah, he’s a traveling man, but the 30-year-old simply hasn’t been able to gain a foothold anywhere and he has appeared in just 33 games with three starts. If the Bills can get him back to the practice squad they’d be happy.

Bills release Two offensive linemen

No surprise here as guards Gunnar Britton and Mike Edwards are reportedly being cut. Neither player had any chance of making the 53-man roster, but Edwards will be brought back to the practice squad if he doesn’t get picked up.

Edwards was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Campbell which is where he transferred after starting his college career at Wake Forest. The 363-pounder was a two-time All-American in the lower level of Division I, the Football Championship Series.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver depth chart coming into focus

Two more cuts have hit the position as Justin Shorter and Xavier Johnson are both reportedly on their way out of the building.

Shorter was a fifth-round pick in 2023 who spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve and then really didn’t do anything in training camp or the preseason that caught the eyes of the coaches. He played only 24 pass snaps in the three games and caught two of four targets for 15 yards.

Johnson was a standout at Ohio State who signed with the Bills as an undrafted free agent. In the preseason he caught all three of his targets for 27 yards while playing 19 pass snaps.

This leaves three receivers outside of the top five who are still on the team: Andy Isabella, KJ Hamler and Deon Cain. Hamler would seem to have the best path to a roster spot because he can return punts and kickoffs, and he can play in the slot or outside at receiver.

Kareem Jackson released by Buffalo Bills

Veteran safety Kareem Jackson is being cut which would indicate the Bills are feeling good about the health of Mike Edwards, Cole Bishop and Damar Hamlin. Jackson, a 15- year NFL player, was signed early in training camp because of those injuries, as was Terrell Burgess who was placed on injured reserve Monday.

WR Tyrell Shavers a surprise cut

Again, none of the news you will see here is official from the team, but the reports from NFL insiders are generally accurate because they get their information almost always direct from player agents.

So, assuming the information is good, Shavers would qualify as a bit of a surprise. It looked like he had done enough to earn the sixth wide receiver spot, but either the Bills disagreed with that perception, or they don’t plan on keep six receivers.

Last year, the Bills kept five receivers, so it was never a given that Shavers would make it. Also, this decision would seem to indicate that the health news is good on Curtis Samuel (turf toe) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (neck) and that the team is confident both will be ready for Week 1.

Shavers had a productive spring and seemed to be showing well in practices at training camp, but he was not overly noticeable in the three games. Part of that was because of the quarterback play, especially in the Pittsburgh game.

Shavers caught four of seven targets for 28 yards and he had a chance to catch a TD against the Panthers but did not make a strong effort and the slightly overthrown but catchable pass from Ben DiNucci fell incomplete.

QB Ben DiNucci reportedly cut

The Bills are planning to release DiNucci to help get down to 53, but there seems like a pretty good chance he’ll be re-signed to the practice squad Monday.

DiNucci looked fairly capable in his preseason game action, but certainly not to the level of backup QB status. He’ll be fine on the practice squad if he is brought back.

The backup spot is where the focus will be on because we’re still uncertain about the severity of Mitchell Trubisky’s knee injury.

Buffalo Bills roster cuts tracker: Nine players trimmed

Sunday afternoon, the team announced the release of quarterback Anthony Brown, wide receiver Damiere Byrd, offensive lineman Kevin Jarvis, defensive end Rondell Bothroyd, linebackers Deion Jones and Shayne Simon and cornerback Kyron Brown.

Also, the never-ending injury issues at safety led to both Terrell Burgess (hamstring) and Dee Delaney (knee) being placed on injured reserve.

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These moves got the roster down to 82, so there’s still a long way to go before the reduction deadline at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Buffalo Bills roster cuts tracker: Deion Jones brought experience to team

Parting ways with Jones was the only decision that warranted a little inspection.

The ninth-year veteran signed with Buffalo in the offseason after spending the first six seasons of his career with the Falcons, then one each with the Browns and Panthers. He has 109 games of NFL experience with 91 starts, 731 tackles, 12 sacks, five forced fumbles, two recoveries and 13 interceptions, five of which he returned for touchdowns. He made the Pro Bowl in 2017.

His ability to back up on the inside and outside figured to serve him well in Buffalo, but even though the Bills have lost veteran Matt Milano for most of the season, they are sticking with their youth at the position. It now looks like 29-year-old Nicholas Morrow, another free agent signing with six years in the NFL with the Raiders, Bears and Eagles, will be the Bills’ most experienced linebacker.

Jones’ departure probably means that behind starters Terrel Bernard (third season) and Dorian Williams (second), the Bills will keep Baylon Spector (third) and rookie Edefuan Ulofoshio, and assuming Morrow makes it, if they keep a sixth linebacker (which they always have under Sean McDermott), Buffalo native Joe Andreessen could be the guy.

Bills roster cuts tracker: Buffalo-native Joe Andreessen a feel-good story

Andreessen wasn’t quite as noticeable in the preseason finale against Carolina as he was the week before in Pittsburgh, but throughout the summer, he’s been a rising player and one of the feel-good stories as a local kid. He signed as a rookie undrafted free agent and originally was one of the longest shots to make the team.

The Lancaster High and University at Buffalo product finished the preseason with 23 tackles though he struggled in pass coverage as he allowed nine receptions on 10 targets into his area for 101 yards. If Andreessen does survive the cut, he would likely be a special-teams-only player in 2024.

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, and he has written numerous books about the history of the team. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Buffalo Bills cuts 2024 tracker: Updates on players on the move