Week two of the NFL preseason is in the books, and the battles for Buffalo Bills roster spots on the final 53-man roster are starting to heat up. The matchup with the Steelers will absolutely be a factor when analyzing who locks up a spot.
Without Josh Allen in the game, it makes some of the analysis more difficult, but there was still plenty to glean from the Bills second preseason game . Here are the players that helped, and hurt, their stock heading into the last week of the preseason.
Stock Up
Greg Rousseau, DE
Clearly Greg Rousseau doesn't need any help making the roster, as he's one of the top players on the defensive line, but my goodness did he have an absurd performance in the Bills second preseason game.
He was everywhere. In the first few drives, he seemingly lived in the Pittsburgh backfield, blowing up offensive tackle Broderick Jones on multiple occasions. He logged 2.5 sacks in the first three drives on defense before calling it a day. If the Bills can get elite one-on-one pass rush out of Rousseau this season, that would be a monumental development for this defense.
Daequan Hardy, CB
The Bills used a sixth round pick on Penn State cornerback Daequan Hardy this year, and after tonight's game, it looks like he likely has a roster spot secured. He got plenty of playing time on defense, looking sticky in coverage despite being undersized at only 5'9", but where he made the biggest impact was serving as the team's starting punt returner.
Hardy looked very, very good in the return game with his 4.38 speed. He should have the returner job locked up, while being able to serve as a depth corner on the 53-man roster.
But dude, please stop fielding punts inside your own five yard line. Let those go.
Joe Andreessen, LB
Do you like a feel good story? Then allow me to introduce you to Joe Andreessen, a true hometown hero. Andreessen went to high school just 15 miles from Highmark stadium at Lancaster High School. From there, he went on to play five seasons at Bryant University in Rhode Island, before transferring back to his hometown to play for University of Buffalo.
In his final season, he started all 12 games at linebacker, compiling 90 tackles and 12 tackles for loss, both of which led the team. This year, he got an invite for a Rookie Minicamp tryout with the Buffalo Bills, and impressed enough to get signed.
Tonight, he played in his second preseason game, and he looked like he belonged. Andreessen was flying around the field, repeatedly shooting the correct gap, and demonstrating that he's a sure tackler.
He racked up 12 tackles, two tackles for loss, and looked like he's capable of contributing to this team. With Matt Milano out for about four months , at least, the linebacker depth is very much a question to be answered. Here's hoping "Buffalo Joe" sticks around.
Stock down
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR
Veteran wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling has been having a rough go of it , dropping his only target in the first preseason game, and failing to make an impact tonight before leaving the game with a neck injury. That injury might just be the nail in the coffin for his chances of making the 53-man roster.
The significance of the injury remains to be seen, and I truly hope all will be okay for him, but if he's unable to get on the field over this final week of training camp before the third preseason game, it will mean more reps going to the likes of Tyrell Shavers, who is likely competing for the same roster spot. Valdes-Scantling's standing is on very thin ice.
Mitch Trubisky, QB
To put it very bluntly, Mitch Trubisky looked bad. He repeatedly checked the ball down, refused to push it down the field, held onto the ball for way too long, and on multiple occasions neglected to see wide open wide receivers. He also threw a very not good interception.
Trubisky looked so poor that the Bills may want to consider whether or not he's a viable backup solution if something were to happen to Josh Allen. The offense could get absolutely nothing going through the air when he was the one under center. To make it worse, Trubisky suffered a knee injury that we're still waiting for details on, but the revolving door of backup quarterbacks behind Allen may need to continue to spin to bring in another camp arm.
Related: Buffalo Bills' head coach Sean McDermott says 'that's the standard right there' about key element of preseason victory
Follow along all season for all the latest Buffalo Bills news. You can also find me on X @JonHelmkamp .
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