Buffalo Bills release Frank Summers to clear roster spot for C.J. Spiller

The Buffalo Bills needed to clear a spot on their active, 53-man roster to make room for running back C.J. Spiller, and fullback Frank Summers drew the short straw. Buffalo announced Summers' release on Tuesday afternoon.

Summers joined the Bills in the spring of 2013 after a tryout, and earned a spot on the final roster last fall as the blocking fullback. He held down a small role on offense and special teams throughout the year, and that carried over into the early stages of the 2014 season.

In the midst of this year, however, the Bills shifted their offensive attack enough to make Summers' role obsolete. Gone were the two-back looks, replaced by multiple tight end formations in which second and even third tight ends were used as blockers. As a result, Summers eventually found his way to the inactive list, where he'd spent the last four games as a healthy scratch.

If the Bills do end up needing a blocking back in their final two (but hopefully more!) games of the season, it seems likely that one of the reserve tight ends - Chris Gragg (when healthy) and MarQueis Gray - would fill that role. Anthony Dixon is also capable of it, as well.