The Buffalo Bills have benched center Ryan Groy and elevated Russell Bodine to start today against the Minnesota Vikings. The team made the official announcement in the press box during the hour leading up to kickoff. Groy was Buffalo’s starting center for the first two weeks of the season, but struggled with the job, to put it mildly. He was Pro Football Focus’s worst-rated center in the NFL so far.
Bodine has a longer starting resume in the NFL, though he didn’t win the job in training camp. His experience calling protections might help out rookie Josh Allen, who made mistakes in that department during his first career start.
At the moment, it looks like Groy is headed to the bench, with both Vladimir Ducasse and John Miller remaining the starting guards. Ike Boettger and Wyatt Teller are waiting in the wings behind them, but undrafted center Adam Redmond, whom the team liked, is no longer with the Bills.