The Bills are down to the part of preseason where every snap starts to matter a little more, and for one undrafted receiver, that reality came with a real payoff against Cleveland.
Ja’Mori Maclin, the cousin of former NFL wideout Jeremy Maclin, turned in the kind of day that gets attention in a crowded receiver room. He finished as Buffalo’s leading receiver with 108 yards on just two catches, and both plays mattered.
His first grab went for 37 yards from Kyle Allen, then later in the second half he took a Shane Buchele pass 71 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. That score pushed the Bills ahead 24-7 and was part of the blowout win over the Browns.
It was a big jump from Maclin’s first preseason outing against the Panthers, when he managed only one catch for nine yards. This time, he gave the coaching staff something much harder to ignore, even if the road ahead is still steep.
Buffalo has two preseason wins in the books, and Joe Brady’s staff now has to sort through a roster full of players making their cases. The Bills’ depth has looked good against both Carolina and Cleveland, with veterans, recent additions, draft picks, and undrafted free agents all getting a chance to show what they can do.
That competition is especially tight at receiver. DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Joshua Palmer, and Keon Coleman should be on the roster, which leaves one spot in the room - unless the Bills decide to keep six wideouts.
Maclin is still a long shot, and the most likely outcome remains the practice squad. But after Sunday’s performance, he at least forced his way into the conversation.
He’ll get one more shot in the final preseason game against the Steelers, and if he can produce again, Buffalo’s decision gets a lot more interesting.
In Other News...
Bills Fans Know This Veteran Linebacker Question Isn't Going Away
The preseason is winding down, and the Bills are heading into the part of the calendar where roster choices and late signings can matter as much as anything that happened in August. Across the league, veteran free agents are still sitting out there as teams sort through injuries, depth concerns and whether a move now is worth the disruption. Among the names being floated are James Daniels, Taylor Decker, Jonnu Smith, Cam Robinson, Matt Milano and Kenny Moore II, a group that reflects just how many different needs can still surface before teams settle in for the regular season.
For Buffalo, the linebacker conversation is the one that keeps hanging around because it sits at the intersection of talent, availability and timing. Milano remains one of the more recognizable players in that group, and his status is the sort of thing that can shape how a team views the rest of its roster-building options. As the final preseason days tick by, the Bills will keep looking at the market with that familiar question in mind: whether the right veteran is still out there, and whether the fit is good enough to act on soon. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Depth Battle Just Got More Complicated After Browns Win
A preseason win over Cleveland gave the Bills more to sort through than just the final score, because the most useful part of Week 2 was the way several fringe roster players handled bigger roles. On offense, the evaluation centered on who looked ready to handle real snaps if called upon, while on defense the focus was just as sharp on depth options trying to prove they could survive in a more demanding rotation. For a team built with expectations, these August games are often less about the headline result than the quiet evidence they leave behind.
What made this one especially interesting was how many of those spot-competition battles stayed open after the final whistle. Some players helped themselves with steady work, others left more questions than answers, and that mix is exactly what complicates the Bills roster picture as camp moves on. The coaches still have time to sort through it, but the Browns game made clear that a few of the most important decisions may not be as straightforward as they looked going in. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Preseason Usage May Have Just Clarified Key Roster Battles
The Bills preseason opener against the Browns offered more than just a first look at camp depth charts. For players fighting for jobs, the bigger clue may have been who was on the field, when they were used and whether they were asked to contribute on special teams. In a roster battle this tight, those deployment decisions can say as much as a few snaps in coverage or a couple of tackles.
That lens puts some of the key competitions into sharper focus, from outside cornerback with Kani Walker and Toriano Pride Jr. to linebacker, where Kaleb Elarms-Orr and Dorian Williams were part of the conversation. The same idea stretches across other position groups, too, with the Bills usage patterns hinting that preseason timing and role assignments may reveal more than the box score ever will. [Read more 🡒]