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There is truth in that, as evidenced by the Buffalo Bills’ general manager’s signing of wide receiver Elijah Moore, which was finalized Monday after being reported last week. Moore has a very good chance at cracking the team’s 53-man roster.

In previous years, edge rusher Leonard Floyd and defensive tackle Poona Ford were similarly added after the draft and made the team. With June 1 looming, teams could look to be active, either by releasing players or trading them.

There can always be a surprise that emerges, too, starting this weekend at rookie minicamp. It was there last year that Lancaster’s Joe Andreessen began his journey from tryout player to a member of the 53-man roster.

For the most part, though, the vast majority of the players who will make up the 2025 version of the Bills already are on the roster.

With that in mind, and before the start of rookie minicamp, here is The Buffalo News’ preliminary 53-man roster projection:

Quarterbacks (2): Josh Allen, Mike White.

Cuts (2): Mitch Trubisky, Shane Buechele.

Analysis: The Bills can save $2.5 million by releasing Trubisky, with just $750,000 in dead money. For a team that likely will need to make cap space once the entire active roster, practice squad and players on injured reserve begin counting, this seems like an easy move. White didn’t exactly wow anyone when he got the chance to play in the regular-season finale against New England, but he’s had a full offseason to learn offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s system, so the hope is he will be improved in 2025. Provided he is healthy after a neck injury landed him on injured reserve last season, Buechele can again serve as the practice squad quarterback.

Running backs/fullbacks (4): James Cook, Ty Johnson, Ray Davis, Reggie Gilliam.

Cuts (2): Frank Gore Jr., Darrynton Evans.

Analysis: Barring injury, this is one of the easier position groups to project. Perhaps Gore or Evans could convince the coaching staff to keep four running backs, but that would seemingly be the only way they make it, because the trio of Cook, Johnson and Davis proved to be a strength of the offense last season. Gilliam re-signed primarily due to his value on special teams, although he does play a small role on offense in certain packages.

Wide receivers (6): Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer, Curtis Samuel, Elijah Moore, Laviska Shenault Jr.

Cuts (7): Jalen Virgil, Tyrell Shavers, K.J. Hamler, Kaden Prather, Kelly Akharaiyi*, Stephen Gosnell*, Hal Presley*.

Analysis: Before Moore’s signing, the No. 5 spot on the 53-man active roster appeared to be wide open. He immediately becomes the favorite to win that job. Now, the bigger question is: Will the team keep five or six at the position? We’ll keep Shenault, for now, largely because the new touchback rule that brings the ball out to the 30-yard line is expected to result in a big increase in the number of kickoff returns. That’s Shenault’s No. 1 strength, and could be enough to earn him a roster spot. If the Bills want a sixth receiver with more offensive upside, both Virgil and Shavers were part of the 53-man roster, at times, last season. Hamler’s potential path to a roster spot probably got blocked by the addition of Moore.

Tight ends (3): Dalton Kincaid, Dawson Knox, Jackson Hawes.

Cuts (2): Zach Davidson, Keleki Latu*.

Analysis: The big change here is Quintin Morris, who remains an unsigned free agent, seemingly being replaced as the team’s No. 3 tight end by Hawes, a rookie draft pick who excels as a blocker. Davidson had a strong spring and summer last year and should at least keep things interesting, but looks to be destined for a spot on the practice squad.

Offensive line (9): Dion Dawkins, David Edwards, Connor McGovern, O’Cyrus Torrence, Spencer Brown, Alec Anderson, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Tylan Grable, Chase Lundt.

Cuts (8): Ryan Van Demark, Kendrick Green, Mike Edwards, Travis Clayton, Richard Gouraige, Jacob Bayer*, Rush Reimer*, Gerquan Scott*.

Analysis: The Bills have remarkable continuity up front, with not only all of the same starters returning, but the key backups, too. Thus, the only change predicted here is Lundt, a sixth-round pick last month, beating out Van Demark for the final job at offensive tackle, based solely on the idea that cutting draft picks is never easy. The depth here is so good that Beane may look to swing a trade ahead of final cuts instead of losing a player for nothing.

Defensive line (10): Joey Bosa, A.J. Epenesa, Greg Rousseau, Landon Jackson, Javon Solomon, Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones, T.J. Sanders, Deone Walker, DeWayne Carter.

Suspended (2): Michael Hoecht, Larry Ogunjobi.

Cuts (2): Zion Logue, Hayden Harris*.

Analysis: There is an obvious logjam at both edge and tackle, although the suspensions of Hoecht and Ogunjobi will make things easier to navigate for the first six weeks of the season. If there are no injuries, however, tough decisions will need to be made when those two are able to return. Sanders (round two), Jackson (round three) and Walker (round four) are all roster locks. For what it’s worth, the Bills would save $3.339 million against the cap if they traded Epenesa before June 1. For what it’s worth, part 2: There are numerous savings that could be had if the team either cut or traded Jones, either before or after June 1. An outright release before June 1 would save $1.776 million on the 2025 salary cap, while a trade would save $4.026 million. After June 1, a release would save $5.5 million, while a trade would save $7.75 million. All of those figures are from sports business website . Barring injuries, Solomon and Carter would appear to be the most vulnerable when Hoecht and Ogunjobi return.

Linebackers (5): Terrel Bernard, Matt Milano, Dorian Williams, Edefuan Ulofoshio, Joe Andreessen.

Cuts (2): Baylon Spector, Keonta Jenkins*.

Analysis: The Bills have been quiet at this position for the entire offseason. The only notable change was modifying Milano’s contract, which will make him an unrestricted free agent after the season. The team did not draft a linebacker, and thus far has only reportedly agreed to sign one as an undrafted rookie free agent. That can be viewed as a vote of confidence for Ulofoshio and Andreessen, both of whom have a year in the system. Spector has had plenty of chances, but never really took advantage of them, mostly due to injuries.

Defensive backs (11): Christian Benford, Tre’Davious White, Maxwell Hairston, Taron Johnson, Jordan Hancock, Dorian Strong, Taylor Rapp, Cole Bishop, Damar Hamlin, Darrick Forest, Cam Lewis.

Cuts (4): Dane Jackson, Ja’Marcus Ingram, Wande Owens, Daryl Porter Jr.

Analysis: By using three of his nine draft picks in the secondary, Beane created a good deal of competition here. In fact, cutting both Jackson and Ingram in this exercise are perhaps the two toughest decisions to be made. White’s status within the organization makes him a tough player to cut. The Bills certainly wouldn’t want to embarrass him in that way. Forest, who was signed as a free agent from Washington, will have to battle for his job, especially if the Bills like what they have in Hancock, who was listed as a cornerback in most pre-draft rankings, but is expected to get reps at safety with the Bills, Beane said. That versatility is looked at favorably by the coaching staff, which is part of the reason Lewis has stuck around as long as he has. The depth here could lead to a trade ahead of the start of the regular season or perhaps during training camp, especially if a team were to lose a defensive back to injury during the preseason.

Specialists (3): Jake Camarda, Tyler Bass, Reid Ferguson.

Cut (1): Brad Robbins.

Analysis: Who’s excited for a punter battle at training camp? Sam Martin’s replacement will be either Camarda or Robbins. May the best man win. It’s somewhat surprising that the Bills continue not to bring in any sort of competition for Bass, even in the form of a rookie undrafted free agent. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to give Bass a little extra motivation after he had an up-and-down regular season in 2024 (he was solid in the postseason).

* – Reported rookie undrafted free agent not yet made official by the team.