The Buffalo Bills have started the inevitable roster crunch that arrives every August, releasing wide receiver Mac Dalena just before their preseason finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The move opened a spot for newly signed center Sincere Haynesworth and underscored how quickly even a productive college resume can become expendable once training camp ends.
Dalena signed with Buffalo on June 1 after short stays with the New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks. A year earlier at Fresno State he had put together a 1,000-yard season, catching 64 passes for 1,065 yards and eight touchdowns.
Those numbers, combined with respectable speed and a willingness to work in traffic, kept him on NFL radars.
Scouts still flagged the same shortcomings that ultimately cost him a job in Buffalo: limited suddenness to create separation and a frame that made it hard to win contested throws downfield. In a crowded receiver room, those traits were not enough.
The transaction is only the opening act. Every team must submit a 53-man roster by Sunday, and the Bills still have several close calls at wide receiver.
Veterans Mecole Hardman and Trent Sherfield sit near the bottom of the depth chart and will be judged as much on special-teams value as on offensive snaps.
Hardman’s most realistic path to survival has been as the primary punt returner. Even that role is no longer guaranteed.
Backup running back Ray Davis has taken punt-return work in recent weeks and shown enough progress that the staff could decide one player can handle both kickoff and punt duties. If that happens, a roster spot opens elsewhere.
Positive medical updates on Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman further tighten the numbers. One recent projection has Buffalo keeping six receivers—DJ Moore, Shakir, Coleman, Joshua Palmer, Skyler Bell and Hardman—which would leave Sherfield on the outside. T
he staff’s final answer to a simple question will decide several fates: does the team need a dedicated punt returner, or can Davis cover both return jobs?
More cuts and corresponding additions will follow in the next 72 hours.
Like every other franchise, the Bills are weighing production, special-teams reliability and injury insurance as they decide which players will open the regular season and which ones will look for work elsewhere. Dalena’s release simply made the first of those decisions official.
