The Buffalo Bills wrapped up their mandatory minicamp on June 12, and the defending AFC East winners’ official training camp does not open until July 23, giving the 90 players still on the team’s roster another month to sit and worry about whether they will still be part of the team when the season opens September 7.
Of course, not all of those 90 players need to carry that worry around, but for at least two of the six running backs currently signed with the Bills, the concerns are very real. The Bills carried four running backs, including one fullback, on their way to a 13-4 record and, ultimately, a berth in the AFC championship game in the 2024 season.
They appear likely to bring back the same four rushers for the upcoming campaign, a season in which the Bills rank among the preseason favorites to win Super Bowl 60.
But that could all change depending on performances in training camp, and in Buffalo’s three preseason games, against the New York Giants, Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Son of Pro Bowl RB Facing Second Straight Cut
Sadly, one of the Bills’ fan favorite players is likely to be cut from the final roster, according to a prediction by Bills correspondent Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic. In fact, Frank Gore Jr. â the 23-year-old son of longtime San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore â will be cut by the Bills for the second straight season, if Buscaglia’s prognostication proves correct.
Unlike his father, a five-time Pro Bowl pick who is now 42 years old but was a 49ers third-round draft pick in 2005 out of Miami, Gore Jr. went undrafted in 2024, despite an impressive undergrad career with the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. In four college seasons, the younger Gore gained 4,022 yards carrying the ball, including a 1,382-yard season in 2022.
“Gore Jr. had a standout preseason, carrying 33 times for 163 yards and a score in the Billsâ three exhibition contests. He also had four receptions for 16 yards on six targets,” wrote SB Nation Bills columnist Sean Murphy on Thursday. “He was still buried on the teamâs depth chart, and he ended up being released as part of the final roster cuts in August.”
‘Unbelievable Preseason’ May be Gore Jr.’s Only Hope
But the Bills were impressed enough to sign Gore Jr. to their practice squad. He never did get a call to serve on the active roster in an actual NFL game last year, but the Bills were impressed enough to re-sign him for 2025. In fact, the Bills inked Gore to a two-year deal worth $1.853 million.
Not too surprisingly, the Bills made sure they were not taking any real financial risk by handing Gore Jr. the two-year pact. Only $8,000 of Gore Jr.’s total salary is guaranteed, meaning that if he is cut, as Buscaglia predicts, that rather paltry amount is all he will see.
“The Bills donât have much mystery regarding who will make the team at running back. They brought back the same group of players from last yearâs training camp, and the expectation is that the same four will emerge on the 53-man roster,” Buscaglia wrote, though he left the door slghtly ajar by adding, “barring an unbelievable preseason from one of Frank Gore Jr. or Darrynton Evans.”
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