2019 Buffalo Bills scouting report: tight end Keith Towbridge

The Buffalo Bills retooled their offense this offseason, adding plenty of new faces all throughout the roster. One of the positions that underwent the greatest overhaul was the tight-end spot, where only one player remains from the 2018 season.

Or wait...it’s actually two players, technically, who were with the Bills in 2018. One of those players, Jason Croom, made the 53-man roster and played a significant amount for the squad last year. The second player is someone who was on Buffalo’s roster throughout the preseason last year, was cut, then wasn’t with the Bills when this series began, but has since re-signed with the club.

In today’s edition of our “90 players in 90 days” series, we profile a tight end looking to make Buffalo’s final roster on his third try with the team.

Name: Keith Towbridge

Number: Not Yet Assigned

Position: TE

Height/Weight: 6’5” 262 lbs.

Age: 24 (25 on 5/21/20)

Experience/Draft: 2; signed with Bills as UDFA following the 2017 NFL Draft

College: Louisville

Acquired: Claimed off waivers on 6/14/19 following release by the Tennessee Titans

Financial situation (per Spotrac): Towbridge signed a two-year deal with Tennessee upon his return to the NFL (he had been a member of the Atlanta Legends in the short-lived AAF). The total value of the contract is $1,080,000, of which zero money is guaranteed. If he were to make Buffalo’s roster, Towbridge would carry a $495,000 cap charge for 2019.

2018 Recap: Towbridge spent the duration of offseason activities as a member of Buffalo’s 90-man roster. He played in all four of the team’s preseason games, and was targeted twice. He made one six-yard touchdown catch—a game-winner against the Chicago Bears during quarterback A.J. McCarron’s legendary final game with the club. After Towbridge did not make the Bills’ roster, he joined the Atlanta Legends of the AAF, where he caught 17 passes for 196 yards on 27 targets over eight games.

Positional outlook: Towbridge is one of seven tight ends on Buffalo’s roster, and barring another injury, he probably stands as the sixth tight end of the current group. While Tyler Kroft is injured, dealing with a fractured foot he suffered on the first day of OTAs, Towbridge also has to contend with Jason Croom, third-round draft pick Dawson Knox, seventh-round draft pick Tommy Sweeney, veteran blocking specialist Lee Smith, and undrafted rookie Nate Becker.

2019 Offseason: Towbridge was claimed after OTAs and mandatory minicamp, so he did not have a chance to participate in those dates with the Bills. He had attended Tennessee’s camps, however.

2019 Season outlook: Towbridge finds himself in a familiar spot in the early summer—he’s on Buffalo’s roster, but he has little chance of making the final squad when the team leaves for New Jersey and their season opener against the New York Jets on September 8. With two draft picks and two big-ticket free-agent acquisitions ahead of him, plus a guy who made the team instead of him at the position last season, Towbridge is likely auditioning for a role elsewhere once again.