The Buffalo Bills re-tooled their offensive line yet again as they returned to the training camp practice field on Monday evening, in an effort to field their five best linemen together in advance of opening day.
Left tackle Cordy Glenn, who missed the first four weeks of camp working back from an undisclosed illness, returned to full-team activities last night as the starting left tackle, as expected. That started a chain reaction wherein rookie left tackle Seantrel Henderson relocated to right tackle, and right tackle Erik Pears slide inside to right guard.
Per WGR 550's Joe Buscaglia, these were the three offensive line units during at least one major portion of 11-on-11 on Monday night.
The most interesting development, of course, is sliding Henderson - the seventh-round pick out of Miami with big talent and bigger off-field issues - to the right side. That's where Henderson spent his entire career with the Hurricanes. He'd earned a shot to stick with the first-team offense after acquitting himself almost shockingly well in Glenn's stead for a month.
It's also good news for Pears, who the team tried to replace at right tackle with a second-round pick back in May. Not only did he do more than enough to stay in the coaching staff's good graces with a solid camp thus far, he managed to stay with the top unit even as the team takes a long look at a high-upside rookie in his usual spot. Count Buscaglia among those who liked what he saw from Pears on his first night at guard.
Kraig Urbik, displaced from right guard, saw time at both left guard and center with the second-team units. Doug Legursky was his counterpart, flipping places with him, and also spelled Williams at left guard with the top line. It's probably good news for Chris Hairston, as well; if Pears' move inside to guard becomes permanent, Hairston might become the third tackle on the roster, considering that Cyrus Kouandjio is not ready to play.
Buffalo's offensive line has been in flux for weeks now, but with final cuts coming in less than two weeks, we might have gotten our first glimpse at the team's desired final product up front last night. To illustrate just how much perception changes in a month's worth of practices, take a peek at our reasonable guess at the line depth chart from back in May, after the Bills had drafted three rookies in the trenches: