Buffalo Bills Down Just Five Players From Week 1, 2011

I'm not exactly sure why - perhaps it's reaching the home stretch of the lame part of the off-season before Buffalo Bills training camp begins - but I've been thinking a lot about the eventual shape of the team's 53-man roster, sparked predominantly by last night's discussion about "locks" for the squad.

Curious to see what last year's opening day roster looked like, I went back into our archives and dug it up (then tweaked it for a couple of roster moves the team made between cut-down-day and the September 11 opener). Maybe it's just me, but I was a bit surprised to find that only five players that were on the team in Kansas City are no longer with the organization.

Those five players: wide receiver Roscoe Parrish, tight end David Martin, left tackle Demetress Bell, linebacker Andra Davis and cornerback Drayton Florence.

Naturally, that number is going to grow once final cuts are made this coming December - not just because of an influx of new players, but also potentially because of the transition from a 3-4 base defense back to a 4-3. Others face stiff competition from players that spent time with the Bills last season (one example being running back Johnny White).

Take a look at last year's opening-day roster in depth chart form. In terms of personnel there's a lot of carryover, but particularly on the defensive side of the ball, there are massive changes that we'll need to account for in future depth charts.