Ian Wheeler had one heck of a summer, and Buffalo just watched him walk away for nothing.
The undrafted back out of Howard did not make the final 53-man roster on Sunday, cleared waivers Monday, and then did something that says a lot about how his preseason actually went: he turned down Buffalo’s practice squad offer entirely. NFL scout Greg Gabriel put it plainly on X: “Ian Wheeler had a strong preseason in Buffalo. Looked like his rookie year. Regained his speed. I’m told he turned down Bills PS. Wonder where he goes.”
Wheeler spent the summer in ’24 with the Bears, and was on the Saints practice squad briefly last season. Then played in the UFL this spring and became a star with Louisville, ending up with MVP honors in the title game.
Wheeler clearly saw a long way to go to get carries in Buffalo, with three RBs on the 53-man and Frank Gore ahead of him on the practice squad. He believes some other team’s active roster is a realistic landing spot right now. And the numbers back up why he might think that.
Did Brandon Beane get this right? Buffalo kept three backs on the 53: James Cook, Ray Davis, and Ty Johnson. SI.com’s Randy Gurzi flagged this exact roster crunch before cuts even happened, making a specific financial and scheme-based case for Wheeler. Gurzi wrote. “Wheeler, an undrafted free agent out of Howard, has a cap hit of $885,000 compared to $3.275 million for Johnson.” That’s a real number, $2.455 million in savings, sitting right there for a roster that’s always managing tight cap math around Josh Allen’s contract and possible mid-season additions.
Let’s also look at age. Johnson is 29, while Wheeler is 24. Johnson’s production has dipped in the last year and he was nursing a knee injury in the offseason. Gurzi pointed to new offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael’s plan to lean on James Cook more heavily in the passing game, a shift that specifically shrinks the role Johnson has as Buffalo’s third-down back. Gurzi wrote. “Wheeler is a more traditional RB2 and has shown during the preseason that he has no issues making the most of every touch.” Johnson has been a terrific third-down back and “break glass in case of emergency.” But Wheeler may have been the better fit for a few reasons.
Johnson brings real experience, and for a team contending for a Super Bowl, the comfort in a veteran who has been part of the team for years might outweigh the inexperience of a new player. But it’s at least fair to ask whether Buffalo undervalued what it actually had. If Wheeler lands somewhere else and produces, this becomes one of those quiet roster decisions Bills fans look back on differently by November.
