The Buffalo Bills (1-2) had gone through their first two games of the preseason slate with questions about how the second-string and third-string players were competing for roster spots. With Buffalo having their preseason finale at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1), it was one last chance for some of the players on the bubble to prove their deserve roster spots ahead of the roster cuts deadline.
To that point, the Bills came away from Saturday’s game at the Buccaneers with a 23-19 win, notching their first victory of the preseason after disappointing losses to the New York Giants and Chicago Bears. In this one, the only quarterback that took the field for Buffalo was Shane Buechele and he stepped up to the plate to the tune of 278 passing yards and one touchdown.
With the start of the regular season just a few weeks away, many of the players that saw the field for the Bills were backups and third-string players in place of guys like quarterback Josh Allen and running back James Cook. Some of the players competing for roster spots were able to show what they could do under the bright lights so here is the stock report for the Bills following Saturday’s preseason finale win at Tampa Bay:
Stock Up: QB Shane Buechele
As mentioned above, Buechele was the only signal-caller that took the field for the Bills and that allowed him to get comfortable with the game and make plays in almost every scenario. While Buechele put together a solid statistical line, it should be noted that he completed 25-of-30 passes (9.3 yards per completion), had a 116.4 passer rating, and averaged 4.0 yards per carry.
Stock Down: WR Elijah Moore
Moore came into the preseason as one of the depth wide receivers with Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, and Josh Palmer being listed as the three starting wideouts. Moore has proven himself to be capable of helping his team in the passing game, but his performance against the Buccaneers, catching 3-of-4 targets for just eight yards, is not the kind of outing that will get him more snaps on Sundays.
Stock Up: LB Joe Andreessen
Andreessen is not just a great story for the Bills given that he was born in New York and attended Buffalo University for his college ball, but he is also a capable player in the right situation. On Saturday in Tampa Bay, Andreessen showed that to the tune of six tackles (five solo) along with a tackle for a loss, showing how involved he was in his latest bid to keep his roster spot.
Stock Down: Bills Kickoff Return Defense
While the preseason can be full of execution errors as players further down depth charts are going to make more mistakes than the starters do, Saturday was just an interesting outing for Buffalo’s kickoff return defense. The Buccaneers averaged 38.0 yards per kickoff return and Tampa Bay running back Josh Williams ripped off two returns of at least 30 yards on his own.
Stock Up: WR Kristian Wilkerson
Wilkerson is in a similar position to Moore when it comes to fighting for more snaps on the field in the regular season, but Wilkerson did what he need to do to put himself in position. Wilkerson caught all five of his targets for 46 yards (9.2 yards per reception), including a catch of 24 yards to show off his ability to make plays down the field for his team.
Stock Down: RB Frank Gore Jr.
Gore’s entry in the stock down category is less to say that he had a bad outing and more to communicate that he could be on the roster bubble due to his fine performance. Gore came into the preseason listed behind James Cook, Ray Davis, and Ty Johnson, and with his 10 carries for 32 yards (3.2 yards per carry) and one touchdown, he may have to hope that he did enough to remain on the roster.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Stock up, stock down after the Buffalo Bills’ preseason finale win over the Buccaneers
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Bills Wire / Bills Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
