Buffalo Bills activate Josh Norman over Kaiir Elam

A little less than four hours before the Buffalo Bills’ Week 8 primetime game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team officially announced a pair of roster moves that have raised some eyebrows.

Wide receiver Andy Isabella and cornerback Josh Norman have been elevated to the team’s active roster for tonight’s Thursday Night Football matchup.

I’d opined in these spaces recently about the idea of elevating Isabella, who became the latest training camp darling after an eye-opening summer of production despite arriving to camp late.

Norman was recently added to the team’s practice squad, a move that brought with it plenty of questions on the merits of signing a 35-year-old cornerback.

With tight end Dawson Knox heading to Injured Reserve (IR), and the team without 75% of its tight ends for tonight’s game, elevating Isabella makes a lot of sense and seems to imply there will be far more 11 personnel sets against the Buccaneers. Some believe this is to utilize him as a returner, but would the Bills use up one of Isabella’s three call-ups just to return punts and kicks?

The news on Norman is very interesting, to say the least. Is Norman active over second-year cornerback Kaiir Elam tonight? Recall, Elam was a late first-round pick of the Bills in 2022 — someone who showed plenty of promise and talent as a rookie but has since fallen completely out of favor since Buffalo’s playoff run ended last January.

If, indeed, Norman is active over Elam, then it’s fair to question how much longer Elam will be a member of the Buffalo Bills.