Waiver Wire Priority For All 32 NFL Teams
Yesterday was the 53-man roster deadline, but the madness will continue today as teams pick through the waiver pile for talented discards. Priority is dictated by the reverse standings with tiebreakers where necessary, which is to say that it will be the same as the 2016 draft order before all the trades. Unlike your fantasy league’s waiver wire, a team does not go to the back of the list upon making a successful claim. That means that the league’s worst teams from 2015 have a significant advantage today as they make late roster additions.
Here is the complete waiver priority order:
1. Titans
2. Browns
3. Chargers
4. Cowboys
5. Jaguars
6. Ravens
7. 49ers
8. Dolphins
9. Buccaneers
10. Giants
11. Bears
12. Saints
13. Eagles
14. Raiders
15. Rams
16. Lions
17. Falcons
18. Colts
19. Bills
20. Jets
21. Redskins
22. Texans
23. Vikings
24. Bengals
25. Seahawks
26. Packers
27. Steelers
28. Chiefs
29. Patriots
30. Cardinals
31. Panthers
32. Broncos
Bills Trim Roster To 53
The Bills announced that they’ve moved their roster to 53 players by cutting 21 players. That list of cuts includes notable names like fullback Jerome Felton, linebacker Manny Lawson, versatile cornerback Sterling Moore, and linebacker Randell Johnson.
The Bills will save $2.35MM against the cap by releasing Lawson and $1.55MM by cutting Felton. By freeing up that cash, the Bills will have a little more room to work with as they negotiate a new deal with cornerback Stephon Gilmore.
Felton was signed as a free agent last offseason to a four-year pact worth $9.2MM, with $4MM guaranteed. Considering how the fullback position has been phased out by many NFL teams, that was a steep price to pay for the former Viking. With Minnesota, Felton acted as the lead blocker for Adrian Peterson‘s 2012 MVP campaign, paving the way for Peterson to nearly break the all-time rushing record. Felton himself went to the Pro Bowl that season, and was named second-team All Pro. The team is saving money by dropping the 30-year-old, but his release is also a sign of their confidence in Glenn Gronkowski.
Over the last three seasons, Lawson has appeared in all but one regular season game for the Bills. In 2015, Lawson appeared in every contest and started 14 games, racking up 45 tackles, 1 sack, and 5 pass deflections. Lawson is facing a one-game ban as a result of a domestic violence incident and that was thought to be a big blow in the season opener considering that the team will also be without top rookies Reggie Ragland and Shaq Lawson plus reserve linebacker IK Enemkpali. For one reason or another, the Bills have decided that they are better off without him.
Moore, 26, came over from Tampa Bay during the offseason, and has also spent time with the Patriots, Cowboys, and Raiders. Johnson, meanwhile, has been with Buffalo for the past two seasons, starting one game during that time.
Here is the complete list of cuts:
- FB Jerome Felton
- CB Sterling Moore
- LB Manny Lawson
- LB Randell Johnson (waived/injured)
- TE Blake Annen (waived/injured)
- LB Kroy Biermann
- WR Jarrett Boykin
- CB Mario Butler
- WR Kain Colter
- DT Brandon Deaderick
- DL Lavar Edwards
- RB Boom Herron
- WR Dez Lewis
- OL Marquis Lucas (waived/injured)
- OT Chris Martin
- G Cyril Richardson
- CB Sammy Seamster
- LB Max Valles
- C Fernando Velasco
- DT Casey Walker
- RB James Wilder Jr. (waived/injured)
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bills Claim Patrick Lewis On Waivers From Seahawks
- The Bills announced that they have signed linebacker Ramon Humber. To make room, the team relased kickoff specialist Jordan Gay. Humber, 29, was cut loose by New England on Tuesday. Humber was a favorite of Bills assistant head coach Rob Ryan when he served as the defensive coordinator in New Orleans.
- The Bills also made a successful claim for third-year center Patrick Lewis on waivers, per Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (on Twitter). To make room, the team waived offensive lineman Jamison Lalk, Joe Buscaglia of WKBW tweets. Seattle waived Lewis on Tuesday in trimming its roster down to 75 players. This comes two days after the Seahawks attempted to trade Lewis but evidently found no one willing to part with the kind of capital they preferred. The Bills, who occupied the 19th position in the waiver order, landed Lewis without parting with any draft picks and potentially added an interior-line backup for Eric Wood. Lewis started 13 games for the Seahawks over the past two seasons but saw Justin Britt‘s move to center push him out of a job. The Bills are the second team to claim the 2014 UDFA on waivers, doing so after the Seahawks added him by this measure when the Browns waived him.
Bills Cut 9, Down To 75
The Bills released nine players on their way to the 75-man limit. Here’s the full rundown.
Released:
- LB Eric Striker
- LB David Hawthorne
- WR Greg Little
- QB Austin Trainor
- LS Reid Ferguson
- C Robert Kugler
- TE Jimmay Mundine
- DT Alameda Ta’amu
- DT Justin Zimmer
Reserve/PUP:
- LB Shaq Lawson
- WR Marcus Easley
Waived/Injured:
- CB Jonathan Dowling
- TE Chris Gragg
- OT Justin Renfrow
Reserve/NFI:
- WR Kolby Listenbee
Reserve/Injured:
- LB Reggie Ragland
Packers Trade Lerentee McCray To Bills
The Bills are set to acquire linebacker Lerentee McCray from the Packers in exchange for draft pick compensation, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. The Packers will receive a conditional 2018 seventh-round draft choice, per an announcement from the Bills. The Packers have also made a handful of roster moves, bringing them down to 75 in advance of the deadline.
Released:
- WR Harvey Binford
Placed on IR:
- TE Kennard Backman
- RB John Crockett
- C Jacob Flores
- TE Mitchell Henry
- G Josh Walker
McCray appeared in 24 regular season games for the Broncos over the last two years. This offseason, he was a restricted free agent but he was not tendered an offer. In April, he hooked on with the Packers.
Bills Sign Austin Trainor
- The Bills announced that they’ve signed quarterback Austin Trainor, who participated in the team’s rookie minicamp in 2015. As Mike Rodak of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links), backup Buffalo QB Cardale Jones is currently dealing with a personal issue, and though he’s expected to return soon, head coach Rex Ryan said Trainor will help the Bills get through Thurday’s preseason game if needed.
Bills’ Chris Gragg Out For Season
Chris Gragg will miss the season due to the knee injury he suffered Friday night, Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. The fourth-year Bills tight end announced he would be out for the duration of the 2016 campaign in an Instagram post.
Rex Ryan said earlier today the injury looked like a torn ACL, via Rodak (on Twitter), so the news isn’t surprising. For the Bills, it’s yet another unavailable talent during a summer that’s deprived Buffalo of several cogs.
A seventh-round Bills selection in 2013, Gragg has started 10 games over the past three seasons with Buffalo. After making 12 catches for 150 yards last season, Gragg was set to be Charles Clay‘s backup again as he entered his contract year.
Beyond Gragg, the Bills, as Roster Resource shows, have seventh-year veteran Jim Dray — whom they signed this offseason — and 2015 sixth-rounder Nick O’Leary. Dray caught 43 passes for 457 yards between 2013-14 for the Cardinals and Browns, respectively.
The Bills’ defense has endured the brunt of the offseason blows, having lost Reggie Ragland for the season and Shaq Lawson for an undetermined portion of it. Marcell Dareus faces a four-game suspension, and IK Enemkpali tore an ACL that led to a waived/injured transaction. However, the offense has endured damage as well. Buffalo cut Karlos Williams and saw Sammy Watkins miss several weeks this year with a foot injury. Gragg just represents the latest setback.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Karlos Williams Goes Unclaimed
Karlos Williams is now a free agent. The deadline for him to be claimed off waivers has come and gone and all 31 teams have declined to take the running back at his scheduled salary, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. 
[RELATED: Bills Expected Williams To Be Claimed]
As a rookie in 2015, Williams ran for 517 yards off of 93 carries, good for an eye-popping 5.6 yards-per-carry average. He also added seven rushing touchdowns. This year, the Bills were banking on Williams to serve as a quality complement to lead rusher LeSean McCoy, but things didn’t pan out that way.
In July, the Bills learned that Williams would have to serve a four-game suspension for a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.
“As an organization, we are disappointed that Karlos has put himself in this situation,” the Bills said in a statement at the time. “Poor decisions such as this affect not only the individual, but the entire Bills organization. We will continue to work with Karlos through the various player programs we provide to assist him in making better decisions moving forward.”
The issues with Williams didn’t stop there. The tailback reported to minicamp overweight, and, according to one report, porked all the way up to 261 pounds after being listed at 229 last year. Given his off-the-field and conditioning issues, it seems that the rest of the league isn’t all that crazy about him either.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bills Activate Seantrel Henderson
The Bills announced that they have activated offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson from the active/non-football illness list. Henderson has not played or practiced since he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease last December. 
Henderson started all 16 games in his rookie season in Buffalo, and had started 10 games for the team in 2015 before he was sidelined with Crohn’s. In May, head coach Rex Ryan and some of Henderson’s teammates indicated that they had not heard from him in some time. There were also rumblings that perhaps Henderson’s heart wasn’t really in playing football. Anonymous teammates told Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News that his work ethic was suspect when he was on the field and, off the field, he had used marijuana too frequently. The Bills were able to draft Henderson in the seventh round of the 2014 draft in part because of his multiple failed drug tests at the University of Miami. He also reportedly tested positive for marijuana at the scouting combine.
With Henderson away from the team, the Bills have been using Jordan Mills as their first-team right tackle in practice with the hope that 2014 second-rounder Cyrus Kouandjio can put it all together and win the starting job. Now, it will be interesting to see how Henderson factors into the Bills’ offensive line picture.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
10 Teams That Could Claim RB Karlos Williams
After waiving him yesterday, the Bills “fully expect” another NFL club to land running back Karlos Williams, and we’ll find out tomorrow if any other team decided to place a claim (the waiver period is typically 24 hours, but rolls over until Monday on weekends). If no one else is interested, Williams will become a free agent. But given that Williams’ (minimal) signing bonus will accelerate onto Buffalo’s cap –meaning that any acquiring team would only be on the hook for minimum salaries for the next three years — it seems likely that Williams will get claimed.
Clearly, there are reasons to be concerned about Williams’ future. He’ll be suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season after violating the league’s substance abuse policy, and he’s struggled with his weight throughout the offseason. At one point, Williams was up 261 pounds, and after losing some of that heft, he’d reportedly begun to balloon once again, leaving the Bills to wonder if he was serious about football.
But Williams also flashed dynamic ability during his rookie season, finishing with 613 yards from scrimmage and nine TDs on just 104 touches while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. The 23-year-old also became one of just two players in NFL history to score a touchdown in each of his first six games in the league. All in all, Williams seemingly defines an old adage: high risk, high reward.
Let’s take a look at several teams that could be interested in Williams, listed in order of their waiver priority:
Cleveland Browns — New head coach Hue Jackson is trying to foster a new culture with the Browns, but he’s also shown a willingness to give players a second chance. He’s embraced wide receiver Josh Gordon, who was recently reinstated from a season-long suspension, and he stood by running back Isaiah Crowell after the latter posted a disturbing image online. Crowell and Duke Johnson figure to get most of the run for Cleveland during the upcoming season, but the club should be stockpiling talent during its rebuild, and Williams would be a cheap upgrade.
San Diego Chargers — San Diego had high hopes for its rushing attack after trading up to select Melvin Gordon in the first round of last year’s draft, but offensive line injuries and Gordon’s own poor play led to the Chargers finishing 31st in rushing DVOA. Gordon then had microfracture surgery in January, and while his long-term prognosis is positive, serious knee injuries are always unwelcome news for young running backs. It looks like Gordon is already losing work to Danny Woodhead during the preseason, and if the Chargers think Gordon is in for another sub-par season, they could take a risk on Williams.
Baltimore Ravens — This is only my speculation, but given that he’s on the wrong side of 30, coming off injury, and due a non-guaranteed $3MM base salary, veteran running back Justin Forsett could be a surprise cut as roster cutdowns approach. Such a move would be made much easier if the Ravens were able to acquire a talent like Williams, who could slot in the backfield after his suspension, teaming with Javorius Allen, Terrance West, Kenneth Dixon, and perhaps Lorenzo Taliaferro. Baltimore has taken chances on character risks in the past, though the club was burned by safety Will Hill, with whom they cut ties after he was handed a 10-game suspension.
Philadelphia Eagles — Like the Browns, the Eagles haven’t been afraid to collect players who are considered character risks, as evidenced by their trade for receiver Dorial Green-Beckham last week. Philadelphia is hoping it can turn around the career of DGB, who struggled with both motivation and learning the Titans’ playbook, and they could place a similar bet on Williams. Like DGB, Williams clearly has talent, and the Eagles could use another option alongside Ryan Mathews, Kenjon Barner, Darren Sproles, and Wendell Smallwood. Turron Davenport of USA Today recently looked at how Williams could succeed in the type of outside zone runs employed by the Eagles.