The Buffalo Bills have signed cornerback Anthony Kendall to their 53-man active roster ahead of their clash with the Los Angeles Rams for Monday Night Football in Week 5. To make room for Kendall, Buffalo made a corresponding move to release veteran outside linebacker Mike Danna.
Kendall was most recently a member of Buffalo's practice squad after spending training camp with the team this past summer. Sean Murphy's detailed scouting report in August laid out an unlikely path to Kendall seeing live snap in the regular season, or rostered with the team, if all things went as planned.
Injuries to the Bills' group have called to action a once-unlikely backup plan. Kendall entered the NFL with the Tennessee Titans back in the 2023 NFL Draft. The former Division III players is a 5'10", 188-pound corner who hasn't played in a regular-season game or otherwise since his rookie year, and even then most of his snaps came on special teams.
Kendall isn't an elite athlete, but he did clock a 4.53-second 40-yard dash, a 4.44-second 20-yard shuttle, and a 7.02-second three-cone drill. The numbers that stand out the most, however, were his 39.5" vertical, 10'9" broad jump, and 19 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press . Sean Murphy astutely pointed out Kendall's Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 8.31, stating that "he clearly has potential based on his athleticism alone."
What Kendall's signing actually means for the cornerback depth chart remains to be seen later tonight, or if it's a move to bolster needs on special teams. It's important to note that the Bills did not place anyone on Injured Reserve, which is good news regarding long-term plans.
Additionally, on Friday Buffalo only ruled out two starters, that being wide receiver Joshua Palmer and defensive tackle Ed Oliver. However, there are some unknowns in the defensive backfield. Starting nickel cornerback Dee Alford is listed as questionable for tonight, and top cornerback Christian Benford has been dealing with a toe injury that initially had him in a walking boot.
Benford's injury sidelined him in Week 4, but head coach Joe Brady informed the media that the team's CB1 will play.
