The Buffalo Bills signed veteran center Lloyd Cushenberry III to a one-year $1.4 million contract in March, but he might not even get a chance to make the 53-man roster.
Bills on SI’s Randy Gurzi made his 53-man roster prediction for when cuts are made after training camp, and he didn’t have Cushenberry making the roster.
“That means one of the biggest names on the bubble that fails to make the roster in this prediction is backup center, Lloyd Cushenberry,” Gurzi wrote on Tuesday. “With Alec Anderson winning the starting left guard job, Buffalo ends up with Austin Corbett on the bench, where he will be a reserve guard as well as their backup center. That also leaves Sedrick Van Pran-Granger on the outside looking in. Both will be targets for the practice squad, though, giving the Bills some extra depth to turn to.”
The Bills Might Not See Cushenberry Play a Game For Them
Cushenberry started his NFL career with the Denver Broncos, playing there for four seasons and starting in 57 games. He signed with the Tennessee Titans in 2024 and appeared in 23 games, starting all 23.
The 28-year-old center didn’t grade out well by Pro Football Focus last season, as it ranked him as the 36th center out of 40, with a 39th run blocking grade.
Buffalo acquired Cushenberry on a great deal, which makes it worthwhile to bring him in and see what he can offer the team. If the Bills determine that he isn’t a good fit, they could potentially trade him, as other teams around the league are likely looking for center depth.
ESPN Recently Gave Cushenberry Great Praise
Even though Gurzi has the Bills releasing Cushenberry from his 53-man roster prediction, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell thinks highly of him. Barnwell published an NFL All-Backup Team article on July 20, listing Cushenberry as one of the best backup centers in the NFL.
“If great teams are really built through the trenches, we’ll need to start in Buffalo by landing two important blockers,” Barnwell wrote. “Center is a perilously thin spot around the NFL, especially when trying to find players who aren’t inked in as starters. Cushenberry was a big-ticket free agent signing in Tennessee a couple of years ago, but a torn Achilles set him back, leading to his release this offseason. We’ll give him a shot as our starting pivot in 2026.”
Joe Brady Likes What He Has Seen From Cushenberry in the Past
There seems to be a handful of different opinions on Cushenberry, but the most important one has to be head coach Joe Brady, who thinks Cushenberry is a starting center in the NFL.
“Lloyd’s a starting center in the NFL,” Brady said in March of a player who has done so in 80 games for the Broncos and Titans, via Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Sal Maiorana. “There was a chance we lost both Connor and David (Edwards). It was keeping me up at nights with some of those thoughts and Lloyd was a guy — I know he’s coming off of an injury — but Lloyd was a possibility of being our starter.
“He’s played a lot and now he’s in a role that could potentially be your swing being the backup. You never want anything to happen to your starter, but having a guy that’s done that with the experience, I think that’s how you get this.”
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