With less than two weeks until the roster is trimmed to 53 players on Sept. 5, the Buffalo Bills' most unsettled position is wide receiver, where nearly every player has been banged up in recent weeks.
Top receivers Sammy Watkins (glute) and Robert Woods (hip) continued to sit out team drills Sunday, while Percy Harvin (hip) likely will remain out until next week. Chris Hogan (ankle) is also questionable for the start of the regular season.
Assuming Hogan -- who has struggled with dropped passes in training camp -- is safe for the final roster, the Bills' top four receivers are set. With Marcus Easley a lock as a special teams ace, it's hard to see the Bills having room for more than one additional player at the position.
Enter Deonte Thompson. Before Sunday night's practice, when Thompson had two drops, coach Rex Ryan told reporters that the Bills have gotten "a lot of calls" for the former University of Florida receiver, who finished last season on the Bills' 53-man roster.
If the Bills can swing a deal for Thompson -- it's hard to see him netting the Bills anything more than a late-round draft choice -- then it will clear up a logjam at wide receiver and allow another receiver to make the cut. One sleeper to consider is Marcus Thigpen, who has flashed as a punt returner this preseason.
Ryan didn't dish on if there are other "bubble" players that teams have inquired about, but my educated guess is that Bryce Brown could generate some interest on the trade market within the next two weeks. If the Bills are healthy at running back by the start of the regular season -- Ryan believes Karlos Williams and Boobie Dixon will be back for the opener and he is "cautiously optimistic" that LeSean McCoy will return by then -- then I can see Brown being expendable.
Elsewhere on the roster, Ryan said Sunday that cornerback Leodis McKelvin isn't likely to be moved to the reserve/non-football injury list, which would keep him out at least the first six weeks. The Bills feel that McKelvin, who has transitioned to a walking cast but is still using a scooter to move around, will be able to return before late October.
Ryan also indicated last week that it's a "high, high possibility" that he'll keep three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, and that Matt Simms hasn't yet been a candidate for one of those spots.
All of those tidbits are reflected in our latest 53-man roster projection below:
Quarterbacks (3): Matt Cassel, Tyrod Taylor, EJ Manuel (cut: Simms)
Running backs (4): McCoy, Fred Jackson, Dixon, Williams (trade/cut: Bryce Brown; cut: Bronson Hill, Ricky Seale, Cierre Wood)
Fullbacks (1): Jerome Felton (cut: John Conner)
Wide receivers (6): Sammy Watkins, Robert Woods, Percy Harvin, Chris Hogan, Marcus Easley, Marcus Thigpen (trade/cut: Deonte Thompson, Marquise Goodwin; cut: Dez Lewis, Andre Davis, Tobais Palmer, Austin Willis)
Tight ends (4): Charles Clay, Matthew Mulligan, MarQueis Gray, Nick O'Leary (cut: Chris Gragg)
Tackles (3): Cordy Glenn, Seantrel Henderson, Cyrus Kouandjio (cut: Darryl Johnson, Tyson Chandler, Terren Jones)
Guards (3): Richie Incognito, John Miller, Cyril Richardson (cut: William Campbell, D.J. Morrell, Alex Kupper)
Centers (2): Eric Wood, Kraig Urbik
Defensive tackles (4*): Kyle Williams, Dareus (*suspended), Corbin Bryant, Red Bryant, Stefan Charles (cut: Andre Fluellen, Justin Hamilton)
Defensive ends (4): Mario Williams, Jerry Hughes, Alex Carrington, IK Enemkpali (cut: Quentin Groves, Cedric Reed, Andrew Hudson, B.J. Larsen)
Strongside linebackers (2): Manny Lawson, Randell Johnson (cut: Michael Buchanan)
Middle/weakside linebackers (3): Nigel Bradham, Preston Brown, Tony Steward (cut: A.J. Tarpley, Jimmy Gaines)
Cornerbacks (6): Stephon Gilmore, Leodis McKelvin, Ronald Darby, Nickell Robey, Ron Brooks, Mario Butler (cut: Ross Cockrell, Ellis Lankster, Merrill Noel)
Safeties (4): Aaron Williams, Corey Graham, Bacarri Rambo, Duke Williams (cut: Jonathan Meeks, Kenny Ladler, Wes Miller)
Specialists (4): Dan Carpenter, Jordan Gay, Colton Schmidt, Garrison Sanborn