Bills call up Xavier Rhodes, Tanner Gentry for Browns game

On Saturday, the Buffalo Bills announced a couple of practice squad call-ups that will impact their game-day roster for today’s matchup with the Cleveland Browns at Ford Field in Detroit, MI. The two players called up for the game are wide receiver Tanner Gentry and cornerback Xavier Rhodes.

We’ll start with Rhodes, the 10-year veteran, three-time Pro Bowl selectee, and 2017 first team All-Pro who technically made his Bills debut in last weekend’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings, but did not log a snap. His call-up improves the Bills’ defensive backfield numbers while Tre’Davious White continues to ramp up for his return, and while the team shuffles some depth around to account for injuries to safeties Micah Hyde (out for the year) and Jordan Poyer (questionable—elbow), as well as rookie cornerback Kaiir Elam (questionable—ankle). With Elam out, Rhodes will serve as either the Bills’ fourth or fifth cornerback, looking up on the depth chart at Taron Johnson, Dane Jackson, and Christian Benford, at minimum.

This is Gentry’s second call-up of the season; he also dressed in Week 5 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, receiving a target in the passing game while the Bills sat receivers Isaiah McKenzie and Jake Kumerow due to injury. Kumerow’s absence in this one—he landed on IR this week with an ankle injury—again prompted Gentry’s call-up, as the Bills currently only have four healthy receivers on their active roster.

The Bills will announce their Week 11 inactive list roughly 90 minutes before the team’s 1:00 p.m. EST kickoff against the Browns.