Buffalo Bills begin to add UDFAs to roster after NFL draft (2024)

The Buffalo Bills didn’t waste any time continuing to tinker with the roster on Saturday. After the draft ended – with 10 new players – the team began adding rookie undrafted free agents, as well as signing one receiver with NFL experience.

General Manager Brandon Beane acknowledged that there is always more work to do.

“We’re going to keep spinning this roster and see if there’s a few pieces between now and camp,” he said.

Beane noted during his post-draft news conference that the Bills had worked out one wide receiver on Saturday. That receiver appears to be Quintez Cephus. According to an announcement by his agency SportsTrust Advisors on Sunday, Cephus is joining the Bills.

Cephus, 26, was suspended last April for betting on NFL games. He was with the Detroit Lions when the suspension was handed down. The Lions released him, leaving him a free agent. In three seasons with the Lions, Cephus had 37 catches for 568 yards and four touchdowns.

At the time, Cephus and other players were suspended indefinitely. Earlier this April, the NFL reinstated Cephus and four players who were suspended for the 2023 season for violating the league’s gambling policy.

He played college football at Wisconsin and was a fifth-round pick of the Lions in 2020.

The group of UDFAs at the moment is headlined by Frank Gore Jr., whose father Frank Gore played running back for the Bills in 2019 during a 16-year NFL career. Gore Sr., who will turn 40 next month, played his last season in 2020.

Gore Jr., a running back out of Southern Miss, had 231 carries last season for 1,131 yards and 10 touchdowns. The signing was first announced by his agency, First Round Management.

The Utah football team posted on X that offensive lineman Keaton Bills was signing with Buffalo. The aptly-named Bills joins teammate safety Cole Bishop and former Utes tight end Dalton Kincaid in Orchard Park.

Ohio State football posted on X that wide receiver Xavier Johnson Jr. is headed to Buffalo. Johnson had 13 catches for 178 yards last season. He also had 13 catches for 151 yards the previous year, along with a 71-yard rushing touchdown in 2022.

The University of Miami posted that defensive lineman Branson Deen was signing with the Bills. After five seasons at Purdue, Deen spent his final year with the Hurricanes, where he finished with 18 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

Western Michigan football announced that cornerback Keni-H Lovely is joining Buffalo as well. He led his team in interceptions each of the last two seasons (including four in 2022), while also leading the Broncos in forced fumbles (three) in 2023. Lovely was third-team All-MAC in each of those campaigns.

Tulane football announced that wide receiver Lawrence Keys III is headed to the Bills. Keys, who is 5-foot-10, caught 33 passes for 599 yards and seven touchdowns last season.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that Auburn’s offensive lineman Gunner Britton will join Buffalo. Britton is versatile, playing multiple spots across the line, including right and left tackle and left guard.

Agency Black Label Sports Group announced that San Diego State punter Jack Browning is signing with the Bills. Browning handled kicking duties as well, and he was named second-team All-Mountain West.