The Buffalo Bills announced the release of five players on Saturday, bringing their roster to 50 players in advance of Saturday's 6 p.m. ET deadline to be at the 53-player limit.

Quarterback Thad Lewis, linebackers Bryan Scott and Jamie Blatnick, and defensive linemen Izaan Cross were all released.

The departure of Lewis comes as the biggest surprise, as he had the inside track to the Bills' third quarterback job following the release of quarterback Matt Leinart on Friday.

With EJ Manuel's status for the season opener in doubt, the Bills are back to just one healthy quarterback: undrafted rookie Jeff Tuel.

With just 50 players on their roster, it's safe to assume that the Bills placed at least one waiver claim on players waived Friday, or are planning on claiming players waived Saturday.