The Buffalo Bills announced a series of roster moves on Saturday in preparation for their Sunday afternoon game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bills signed tight end Keleki Latu from the practice squad, and to make room for him on the 53-man roster, they released wide receiver Mecole Hardman Jr.
Buffalo also elevated kicker Michael Badgley and defensive end Andre Jones Jr. from the practice squad.
Latu, 23, signed with Buffalo as an undrafted free agent in the spring. He spent the offseason with the team, but was ultimately cut from the roster at the conclusion of the preseason. Latu was signed to the team’s practice squad, and he has been elevated three times this season. He played in Buffalo’s wins over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as their loss to the Houston Texans. He caught his only target, a four-yard completion against the Bucs.
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Hardman, 27, has appeared in two games for the Bills this season. He returned a kickoff 61 yards on his first touch with the team against Tampa Bay, but he fumbled a punt return later in the contest and suffered a calf injury on the same play. He returned from Injured Reserve last week, appearing on just two punt-return snaps. Buffalo will likely look to sign him to the practice squad if he clears waivers. At this point in the season, all players are subject to waivers regardless of service time.
Badgley, 30, was the team’s kicker last week against the Cleveland Browns. He made a 41-yard field goal and two of his three extra-point attempts, but he also shanked a kickoff well short of the landing zone. Buffalo brought three kickers in for a tryout this week, but they did not sign any of them, so Badgley has at least one more week in relief of Matt Prater, who injured his quad in Buffalo’s win over the New England Patriots.
Jones, 27, has appeared in Buffalo’s last two games. After playing exclusively on special teams against New England, he made the most of his 22 defensive snaps against Cleveland last week. He totaled four tackles in the win. This is Jones’s third practice-squad elevation, so if the Bills wish to use him in a game again, they’ll need to sign him to the active roster.
With tight ends Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox both listed as questionable due to knee injuries, it’s not a great sign that the Bills signed Latu to the active roster. The signing suggests that at least one of the Bills’ top two tight ends is likely to miss tomorrow’s game. Inactive players will be released 90 minutes before kickoff on Sunday, so we’ll know for sure at approximately 2:55 p.m. EST.