Bills Re-Sign Andre Jones Jr. and A.J. Woods: Week 8 Depth Impact
Factual cutoff: October 28, 2026 at 1:41 AM CDT. Roster status, schedule context and the official NFL stat views cited below were checked at that time.
The Buffalo Bills reshaped the back end of their practice squad Tuesday, bringing back cornerback A.J. Woods and outside linebacker Andre Jones Jr. while releasing cornerback Anthony Kendall and defensive lineman Austin Johnson. The moves do not change the 53-man roster, but they give Buffalo two familiar emergency options before Sunday’s home game against Baltimore.
Buffalo’s official announcement confirms all four transactions. The Bills enter Week 8 at 5-1, and the timing is notable because starting safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson is suspended for the Ravens game. Woods is not a direct safety replacement, and neither new signing is automatically eligible to play, but both restore flexibility for a defense that must settle its game-day depth later in the week.
What Buffalo added
Jones is the more experienced of the two returnees. The 6-foot-5, 258-pound edge defender spent time with Buffalo in 2025 and again this year before Miami signed him from the Bills’ practice squad in September. Miami waived him October 20, opening the door for his return.
Official NFL stat pages currently disagree on Jones. NFL.com’s career view lists 19 games and nine total tackles, while its summary view includes one 2026 Miami appearance and lists 20 games and 10 combined tackles. Both views show no sack, and the discrepancy does not change the role assessment: this is a depth move, not evidence of an established defensive workload.
Woods returns for a second Buffalo stint this month. The Bills first added him October 6 and released him October 19 when they brought veteran cornerback Tre’Davious White onto the practice squad. Woods has not appeared in a regular-season game, so he should be evaluated as developmental coverage depth rather than a projected contributor.
His athletic background is still useful context. Buffalo’s earlier Woods announcement lists a 4.35-second 40-yard dash, a 6.56-second three-cone drill and 59 college games at Pittsburgh. He finished college with four interceptions, 25 passes defensed, seven tackles for loss, two sacks and 105 total tackles.
What the releases mean
Johnson’s departure removes a veteran interior defender from the practice squad. Buffalo signed him September 23 after he had played 15 games for the Bills in 2024, producing 19 tackles, half a sack and two interceptions. His release does not remove a player from the active rotation, but it makes Wednesday’s update on injured defensive tackle Ed Oliver more important. If Oliver remains limited, Buffalo will have fewer veteran practice-squad options behind the active interior group.
Kendall had moved between Buffalo’s active roster and practice squad earlier this season. Releasing him while re-signing Woods swaps one developmental corner for another. The decision should not be treated as proof that Woods has passed anyone on the active depth chart; practice-squad transactions often reflect weekly matchup, special-teams and health needs.
How the moves connect to Ravens–Bills
Gardner-Johnson’s one-game suspension creates the clearest short-term pressure in Buffalo’s secondary. The team is expected to rely first on its active safeties, not a newly returned practice-squad corner. Woods nevertheless gives the staff an extra coverage and special-teams option if another defensive back is limited or if Buffalo wants additional game-day depth.
Jones offers a different kind of insurance. Baltimore’s offense is dramatically more difficult to defend if Lamar Jackson returns from his ankle injury, because the quarterback run game stresses edge discipline as much as pure pass rush. Jones’ size and familiarity with Buffalo’s system could make him a candidate for special teams or a reserve edge role, but an elevation must come first.
Buffalo hosts Baltimore Sunday, November 1 at 1 p.m. Eastern. The official Bills homepage lists the Ravens at 4-3 and the Bills at 5-1. Jackson’s practice participation remains the most important matchup variable; these practice-squad moves are secondary context, not a reason to project the Ravens’ final quarterback plan.
Fantasy football and IDP impact
Fantasy scoring note: Recommendations assume half PPR for offensive players and conventional team defense and special teams scoring unless stated otherwise. Jones and Woods remain off standard IDP starting lists unless Buffalo elevates one and announces a meaningful defensive role.
Bills D/ST: Keep Buffalo in the startable range, but do not upgrade the unit because of these signings. Jones has no regular-season sack, Woods has not played in a regular-season game, and both remain on the practice squad. Jackson’s status, Oliver’s participation and Gardner-Johnson’s absence matter much more.
Ravens skill players: No individual downgrade is warranted. Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews should be evaluated through Baltimore’s quarterback and offensive-line updates. A practice-squad addition does not meaningfully alter their matchup by itself.
IDP and dynasty: Jones and Woods remain watchlist-only players in deep formats. A game-day elevation would create relevance for team depth, but neither has the established snap or production profile needed for an IDP lineup. Woods is the younger developmental stash; Jones is the more plausible short-term elevation because he has prior NFL game experience.
The strongest counterargument is that these signings may be ordinary practice squad churn with no Week 8 role at all. That is plausible. Unless Woods or Jones is elevated, Buffalo’s active depth chart and injury report matter more than the transactions themselves.
What to watch next
The next checkpoints are Buffalo’s Wednesday injury report, any game-day elevations and Sunday’s inactive list. Monitor Oliver on the defensive line and every defensive back listed with a limitation. If Woods or Jones is elevated, the transaction would confirm that Buffalo wants one of them available, but it still would not guarantee defensive snaps.
Bottom line: Buffalo exchanged veteran practice-squad depth for two familiar, younger defenders ahead of a high-leverage AFC matchup. The moves improve contingency planning more than immediate fantasy value.
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