A surprise addition to last year’s 53, the swing tackle looks to reprise his role in 2024
The Buffalo Bills love to stockpile depth along the offensive line. Often, they’ll wait until the proverbial “third wave” of free agency to sign veteran linemen to compete in training camp, to fight for a spot on the practice squad, or to serve as a trade-sweetener to gain late-round draft capital. Extra points for the player if he can play multiple spots up front.
Another thing the Bills seem to value in their offensive linemen is overall athleticism. Most of the big boys up front aren’t mere road graders, as the majority of Buffalo’s offensive linemen are fairly nimble for their size. Just because a player doesn’t play often on the offensive line doesn’t mean he isn’t valuable, either, as each reserve lineman is just an injury away from seeing significant playing time.
In today’s installment of our “91 players in 91 days” series, we profile a solid athlete who projects as a reserve offensive tackle for the second consecutive year.
Ryan Van Demark
- Number: 74
- Position: T
- Height/Weight: 6’6”, 307 pounds
- Age: 26 (27 on 3/22/2025)
- Experience/Draft: 2; signed with the Indianapolis Colts as a UDFA following the 2022 NFL Draft
- College: UConn
- Acquired: Signed with Bills’ practice squad on 8/30/2023
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Van Demark signed a one-year reserve/futures deal this offseason. That contract is worth a total of $919,500 and contains $4,500 in guaranteed money. If Van Demark makes the 53-man roster, his cap hit will be that $919,500 number, while his guaranteed money will be the Bills’ dead-cap charge if he’s released.
2023 Recap: After spending his rookie year on Buffalo’s practice squad, Van Demark made the team last season as a reserve offensive lineman. He appeared sparingly, playing on only 47 offensive snaps and 22 special teams snaps for the entire 2023 NFL season. However, he had to play left tackle in the fourth quarter of Buffalo’s 21-14 victory over the Miami Dolphins in the final game of the regular season — a victory that clinched the AFC East Division title for the Bills. After left tackle Dion Dawkins was injured, Van Demark stepped in and performed as if he had been there for the whole year, which is exactly what a backup needs to be ready to do.
Positional outlook: Van Demark is joined by plenty of players competing for space on the roster. Dawkins and Spencer Brown figure to start at left and right tackle, respectively, once again this year, so Van Demark will compete with La’el Collins, Richard Gouraige, Tylan Grable, Alec Anderson, Mike Edwards, and Travis Clayton for a role.
2024 Offseason: Van Demark is healthy, and he participated in OTAs and minicamp to date.
2024 Season outlook: Of the aforementioned linemen, I really can see five of them — Brown, Dawkins, Collins, Anderson, and Van Demark — making the Bills’ 53-man roster. Anderson doubles as an interior lineman, as does Collins, so that versatility will really help.
The question is whether Buffalo keeps nine offensive linemen on the 53-man roster, or if they keep ten. With David Edwards, Connor McGovern, O’Cyrus Torrence, and Sedrick Van Pran Granger all feeling like safe bets, as well, that could do it for the offensive line group come September.
While Van Demark isn’t as versatile as some of the other names on this list, he does play one position well, and he has the added benefit of that position being the money-maker along the offensive line. Good left tackles don’t grow on trees, and when you have one who you think is a solid backup, you hold onto that guy. Van Demark is perfect for that role, and I anticipate him being on the roster once again this year.