Bills name eight captains for the 2021 season

For the first time in the Sean McDermott coaching era the Bills have elected eight players to serve as team captains this season.

Elected as captains for the offense were quarterback Josh Allen and wide receiver Stefon Diggs. For Allen’s it’s his third consecutive season in a captain’s role. Diggs will serve as a captain for the first time in his Bills career.

On defense linebacker Tremaine Edmunds is a captain for a third straight year as well. Safety Jordan Poyer is serving as captain for the second straight year. Safety Micah Hyde will serve as a captain for the first time in his Bills career.

The Buffalo Bills’ 53-man roster for the 2021 season is here. Scroll through to learn about the players on this year’s team.

QB Josh Allen, No. 17 – Signed a six-year extension after setting a single-season franchise records for passing touchdowns (37), completions (396), 300-yard games (8), passer rating (107.2), completion percentage (69.2), passing yards (4,544), and total touchdowns (46) in 2020.

QB Mitchell Trubisky, No. 10 – The No. 2 pick in 2017 reached the playoffs twice in four seasons with Chicago before joining the Bills on a one-year deal during the offseason.

RB Zack Moss, No. 20 – The second-year running back caught a touchdown pass from Josh Allen in Buffalo’s preseason finale against Green Bay.

RB Matt Breida, No. 22 – Fleet-of-foot running back signed a one-year deal during the offseason after averaging 4.9 yards per carry in four seasons with San Francisco and Miami.

RB Taiwan Jones, No. 25 – Veteran back has returned 82 kickoffs for 1,890 yards in his career.

RB Devin Singletary, No. 26 – The third-year running back rushed for 687 yards on 156 carries and caught 38 passes for 269 yards in 2020.

FB Reggie Gilliam, No. 41 – Rushed for two touchdowns during Buffalo’s preseason win over Chicago.

WR Emmanuel Sanders, No. 1 – Veteran newcomer ranks eighth in the NFL with 8,619 receiving yards since 2010.

WR Marquez Stevenson, No. 5 – Rookie returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown during the preseason win over Chicago.

WR Cole Beasley, No. 11 – Named a Second-Team All-Pro in 2020, when he set career highs in receiving yards (967) and receptions (82).

WR Gabriel Davis, No. 13 – Fourth-round pick made an impact as a rookie in 2020, catching seven touchdowns during the regular season before amassing 85 receiving yards in Buffalo’s Wild Card game against Indianapolis.

WR Stefon Diggs, No. 14 – Named a First-Team All-Pro in 2020 after becoming the first player in Bills history to lead the NFL in catches (127) and yards (1,535).

WR Jake Kumerow, No. 15 – Caught a touchdown on his first NFL reception in 2020 during Buffalo’s win over Denver.

WR Isaiah McKenzie, No. 19 – Versatile offensive weapons scored touchdowns as a receiver, a returner, and as a passer in 2020.

TE Dawson Knox, No. 88 – Recorded three touchdowns in 2020, his second NFL season.

TE Tommy Sweeney, No. 89 – Appeared in six games as a rookie in 2019 before missing last season with myocarditis resulting from COVID-19.

C Mitch Morse, No. 60 – Veteran has started 86-of-86 career games played, including seven playoff appearances.

OG Ike Boettger, No. 65 – Appeared in a career-high 12 games during the 2020 regular season, including seven starts at left guard, before starting all three of Buffalo’s playoff games.

OL Ryan Bates, No. 71 – Returns for a third season in a reserve role on the Buffalo offensive line.

OT Tommy Doyle, No. 72 – The Bills drafted Doyle in the fifth round (161st overall) after he earned First-Team All-MAAC honors during a shortened senior season at the University of Miami (OH).

OL Daryl Williams, No. 75 – Signed a three-year contract extension after starting all 16 games at right tackle in 2020.

OT Dion Dawkins, No. 73 – The left tackle has not missed a game in four NFL seasons.

OL Cody Ford, No. 74 – The third-year offensive lineman has started games at both guard and tackle during his young career.

OT Spencer Brown, No. 79 – Buffalo’s third-round pick (93rd overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft spent last season training with former All-Pro tackle Joe Staley.

OG Jon Feliciano, No. 76 – The versatile offensive lineman returns to Buffalo after signing a three-year contract extension in March.

DE Greg Rousseau, No. 50 – Buffalo’s first-round pick in 2021 made an early splash, registering two sacks in three preseason games.

DE Jerry Hughes, No. 55 – The longest-tenured Bills player ranks fifth in team history with 51 sacks.

DE A.J. Epenesa, No. 57 – The defensive end progressed steadily as a rookie in 2020, playing at least 34 percent of defensive snaps in each game after the bye.

DT Justin Zimmer, No. 61 – Recorded 21 tackles in 2020, including the game-winning forced fumble against New England in Week 8.

DT Ed Oliver, No. 91 – Registered 34 tackles, three sacks and six tackles for a loss in 2020.

DE Boogie Basham, No. 96 – Selected 61st overall by the Bills in the 2021 NFL Draft, Basham tallied one sack and two tackles for loss during the preseason.

DE Efe Obada, No. 93 – London native became the first player from the NFL International Pathway Program to make a 53-man roster with Carolina in 2018.

DT Vernon Butler, No. 94 – Defensive tackle posted 18 tackles, including five for a loss, and a forced fumble during his first season with the Bills in 2020.

DE Mario Addison, No. 97 – The veteran returns for his second season in Buffalo after leading the team with five sacks in 2020.

Space-eating defensive tackle returns to the Bills after opting out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

DT Harrison Phillips, No. 99 – Nominated by teammates for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 2020.

LB Tyler Matakevich, No. 44 – Led the Bills with 10 special teams tackles in 2020.

LB Tremaine Edmunds, No. 49 – The fourth-year linebacker is one of two players in NFL history to record 300-plus career tackles before the age of 23, along with five-time All-Pro Luke Kuechly.

LB A.J. Klein, No. 54 – Registered 4.5 sacks during the month of November last season, which led all NFL linebackers.

LB Andre Smith, No. 59 – Appeared in 12 games with the Bills in 2020, recording seven tackles on defense with one tackle for a loss.

LB Tyrel Dodson, No. 53 – Undrafted linebacker returns for his third season in Buffalo after posting 20 tackles in 10 games in 2020.

LB Matt Milano, No. 58 – The Bills went 10-0 last season in games with Milano, who returns on a four-year extension.

CB Taron Johnson, No. 24 – The nickel corner left his mark on Buffalo’s postseason run, intercepting Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson and returning it 101 yards for a game-changing touchdown in the Bills’ 17-3 Divisional Round victory.

CB Tre’Davious White, No. 27 – Named Second-Team All-Pro last season and earned his second Pro Bowl selection.

CB Dane Jackson, No. 30 – Started at cornerback and registered an interception in his NFL debut against the Jets last season.

CB Siran Neal, No. 33 – Played 62-percent of special teams snaps in 2020, a career high.

CB Levi Wallace, No. 39 – Undrafted cornerback enters his fourth season with the Bills after ranking second on the team in interceptions (2) and passes defended (9) in 2020.

S Jordan Poyer, No. 21 – Since joining the Bills in 2017, Poyer is the only NFL player with 400-plus tackles, 10-plus interceptions, and five-plus sacks.

S Micah Hyde, No. 23 – The veteran is one of four defensive backs in the NFL with 17-plus interceptions and four-plus sacks since 2013.

S Damar Hamlin, No. 31 – Sixth-round pick led the University of Pittsburgh in tackles (67) and pass breakups (7) last season.

S Jaquan Johnson, No. 46 – Sixth-round pick in 2019 is entering his third season with the Bills.

K Tyler Bass, No. 2 – Returns for his second season after setting a franchise record with 141 points as a rookie in 2020.

P Matt Haack, No. 3 – Joins the Bills after four seasons in Miami, where he stands as the Dolphins’ all-time leader in net punting average (39.9).

LS Reid Ferguson, No. 69 – Long snapper signed a three-year contract extension in May.

Special teams will have three captains as long snapper Reid Ferguson was elected for a third consecutive season. He’ll be joined by linebacker Tyler Matakevich (first-time captain in Buffalo) and veteran running back Taiwan Jones (first-time captain in Buffalo) to round out the team’s captaincy positions.

In the McDermott era there were six captains elected from 2017-2019, but last year there were seven team captains, until a team-high eight were chosen for the 2021 campaign.