90 Buffalo Bills players in 90 days: T David Quessenberry

The Buffalo Bills love their versatile offensive linemen. If you’re a blocker who projects in a reserve role for the Bills, cross-training at multiple positions — and playing them effectively — is a surefire way to increase your odds of making the roster. Whether that player is a veteran or a youngster, general manager Brandon Beane has shown a clear preference towards versatile pieces up front when considering the sixth, seventh, and eighth linemen on the roster. In other words, the backup linemen who will be active on game days.

In today’s edition of “90 players in 90 days,” we discuss one such versatile lineman — a veteran who performed admirably in spot duty with the team last season.

Name: David Quessenberry

Number: 77

Position: T

Height/Weight: 6’5”, 310 pounds

Age: 32 (33 on 8/24/2023)

Experience/Draft: 6; selected by the Houston Texans in the sixth round (No. 176 overall) of the 2013 NFL Draft

College: San Jose State

Acquired: Signed with Buffalo on 4/21/2022

Financial situation (per Spotrac): Quessenberry re-signed with Buffalo this offseason, inking a one-year deal worth a total of $1.6 million. Of that total, $1 million is guaranteed. Quessenberry carries a cap hit of $1.6 million if he makes the roster, and Buffalo is responsible for a dead-cap charge of $1 million if he’s released prior to the start of the season.

2022 Recap: Quessenberry entered the season as Buffalo’s primary backup at both left and right tackle, and he had to play both spots at various times in the year. He appeared in all 16 of Buffalo’s games, making three starts — at right tackle in the Bills’ Week 8 and 9 contests against the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets, respectively, and at left tackle during Buffalo’s Week 13 win over the New England Patriots — but he filled in for significant time in multiple games. He filled in for Spencer Brown in Week 3 against the Miami Dolphins, and again for Brown in Week 6 against the Kansas City Chiefs. He filled in for Dion Dawkins on Thanksgiving Day against the Detroit Lions, and then he played guard in Buffalo’s 32-29 victory over the Miami Dolphins (starting right guard Ryan Bates was already out, and then starting center Mitch Morse was injured during the game, causing a reshuffle up front). In all, Quessenberry committed two penalties and allowed four sacks across 396 offensive snaps.

Positional outlook: Quessenberry is primarily a tackle, so players like Dawkins, Brown, Tommy Doyle, Brandon Shell, Alec Anderson, Richard Gouraige, and Ryan Van Demark are his primary competition. However, he can also play either guard spot, so players like Bates, O’Cyrus Torrence, Connor McGovern, David Edwards, Kevin Jarvis, Ike Boettger, Greg Mancz, and Nick Broeker could also be considered his positional mates.

2023 Offseason: Quessenberry is healthy and he has participated in offseason activities to date.

2023 Season outlook: Quessenberry is an extremely valuable piece to the offensive line, as he can play four of the five positions up front reasonably well. He is absolutely a “Jack of all trades, master of none,” but that’s not a negative when considering a reserve offensive lineman. His versatility makes him a near-lock for the roster, unless some of the younger players show similar ability to play multiple spots with better results. I expect that he’ll be with the team again this year.