Youboty hopes chances are clear-cut
Bills trim roster to 53 players today
Ashton Youboty won’t be sitting nervously by his telephone this morning. Chances are he didn’t lose any sleep last night.
The young cornerback refuses to be consumed with thoughts of whether he will be a member of the Buffalo Bills for a third season. You see, he’s not one to worry about things he can’t control.
“The coaches will decide who makes this team and who doesn’t,” Youboty said after Thursday’s preseason finale against Detroit. “I have no say in it, so all I can do is go out and let my performance speak for me.”
Youboty’s play spoke volumes this summer. He capped off a strong preseason against the Lions with several pass breakups and a sack. He finished with 28 tackles, two sacks and one interception.
Believed to be in danger going into training camp, Youboty may have cemented a spot on the Bills’ 53-man roster, which will be released by 3 p. m. today.
What to do at cornerback is just one of many decisions the Bills face in determining who they will take into the regular season.
“I feel like I’ve worked hard and competed,” Youboty said. “That’s all I can ask of myself. So we’ll have to see what happens.”
Before Bills coach Dick Jauron announces his selections, here’s a look at our projected 53-man roster:
Offense
Quarterback (3): Trent Edwards, J. P. Losman and Gibran Hamdan. The Bills kept two last season. But Hamdan, who was signed early last season when Losman got hurt, has looked good and is worth keeping.
Running back (4): Marshawn Lynch, Fred Jackson, Xavier Omon and Darian Barnes. The battle for the third spot was even before second-year pro Dwayne Wright fumbled in three of the four preseason games. Jauron has a low tolerance for poor ball security. Barnes will be the starting fullback.
Wide receiver (6): Lee Evans, Josh Reed, Roscoe Parrish, James Hardy, Justin Jenkins and Stevie Johnson. Evans, Reed, Parrish and Hardy are no-brainers. Jenkins was very consistent in training camp and is good on special teams. The Bills may not have the luxury of keeping six, but they risk losing Johnson by putting the promising seventh-round draft pick on the practice squad.
Tight ends (4): Robert Royal, Derek Schouman, Derek Fine and Courtney Anderson. Injuries complicate the situation here. Schouman (knee) and Fine (thumb) might not be ready for the opener, so the Bills must have at least two healthy bodies. Anderson has looked a little better than Tim Massaquoi.
Offensive line (8): Langston Walker, Derrick Dockery, Melvin Fowler, Brad Butler, Kirk Chambers, Jason Whittle, Duke Preston and Demetrius Bell. Left tackle Jason Peters is on the reserved/did not report list, so he doesn’t count toward the 53-man roster. Bell gets the nod over Patrick Estes, Dustin Dickinson and Matt Murphy, who could be looking at season-ending shoulder surgery. Whittle is the obvious choice as the third guard behind Dockery and Butler. Preston narrowly beats out Christian Gaddis to be Fowler’s understudy. Defense
Defensive end (4): Aaron Schobel, Chris Kelsay, Ryan Denney and Chris Ellis. There was really never a doubt here, though Copeland Bryan made more plays than Ellis this summer. But Ellis is a third-round draft pick and Bryan is not. Bryan has NFL ability, so the Bills should keep his phone number on file.
Defensive tackle (4): Marcus Stroud, Kyle Williams, John McCargo and Spencer Johnson. The Bills haven’t had a group this good since the Pat Williams-Sam Adams days. They would like to keep Jason Jefferson, but that will be hard to do because of their needs elsewhere.
Linebacker (6): Kawika Mitchell, Paul Posluszny, Angelo Crowell, Keith Ellison, John DiGiorgio and Donnie Spragan. This race was easy to spell out, although it would have been interesting if rookie Alvin Bowen didn’t suffer a season-ending knee injury. The Bills like Blake Costanzo, but it would be a shock if they kept him over the more experienced Spragan, who can play all three spots. Former safety Jon Corto will get more time to learn the linebacker position on the practice squad.
Cornerback (6): Terrence McGee, Jabari Greer, Will James, Leodis McKelvin, Reggie Corner and Ashton Youboty. Another tough one to call. Starters McGee and Greer, and McKelvin, the Bills’ top draft pick, are sure things. Corner, a fourth-round pick, has looked better than McKelvin at times and will stick as well. If there’s an odd man out it’s either James or Youboty. But James is too valuable as a nickel back and you know what Youboty has done. If Youboty is let go there won’t be a shortage of teams interested in his services.
Safety (5): Donte Whitner, Ko Simpson, George Wilson, Bryan Scott and John Wendling. It says here that Scott and Wendling make the team. But if the Bills had to decide on one, the vote goes to Wendling, a great athlete who has made huge strides in understanding his role in coverages.
Specialists (3): Kicker Rian Lindell, punter Brian Moorman and long snapper Ryan Neill. No need to mess with this operation. Neill should be much better in his second year on the job.
