# Ralph Ventre: Ventre predicts four Bills backups — safety Damar Hamlin, inside linebacker Joe Andreessen, outside linebacker Javon Solomon and running back Ty Johnson — will survive the cutdown to 53 and make the roster. **Claimed:** Aug 27, 2026 **Pundit:** Ralph Ventre — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/ralph-ventre **Outlet:** Sports Illustrated — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/sports-illustrated **How it reached us:** published in writing **Original:** https://www.si.com/nfl/bills/onsi/preseason-four-rumored-buffalo-bills-cut-candidates-who-are-likely-locked-into-roster-spots 6 checkable claims — 4 roster spot calls and 2 depth chart calls — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 5 players and teams, each linked to their own record. 4 of 6 have settled so far, averaging 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess at the same calls. Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the rest of the room. > These four Bills' backups appear safe come cutdown day *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Damar Hamlin to make the roster** - Kind: Roster Spot Calls · About: Damar Hamlin, Buffalo Bills - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Javon Solomon to make the roster** - Kind: Roster Spot Calls · About: Javon Solomon, Buffalo Bills - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Joe Andreessen to make the roster** - Kind: Roster Spot Calls · About: Joe Andreessen, Buffalo Bills - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Ty Johnson to make the roster** - Kind: Roster Spot Calls · About: Ty Johnson, Buffalo Bills - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Damar Hamlin to be 4th on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Damar Hamlin, Buffalo Bills - Verdict: not settled yet - **Joe Andreessen to be 4th on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Joe Andreessen, Buffalo Bills - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Damar Hamlin — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/damar-hamlin - Buffalo Bills — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/bills - Javon Solomon — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/javon-solomon - Joe Andreessen — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/joe-andreessen - Ty Johnson — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/ty-johnson ## What others said about the same people - Danny Parkins on Buffalo Bills: Parkins picked the Giants to upset Dallas, the Steelers to beat Atlanta by two scores, the Bears to beat Carolina, the Bills to beat Houston and Denver to beat Kansas City outright; he also said Justin Herbert will win an MVP and had the Bengals as AFC North champs. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/36c480cc-6b54-4cea-8204-3fc00ea6493c (scored 100) - Kirk Herbstreit on Buffalo Bills: Herbstreit made a full slate of Week 1 picks — Lions, Ravens, Bears, Bills, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Titans, Eagles, Packers and Cowboys — and also said he still thinks Seattle is the team to beat in the NFC West. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/5bc3755c-9b84-484f-b8f2-b18d51a12261 (scored 100) - AJ Hawk on Buffalo Bills: AJ Hawk picked the Ravens over the Colts, Carolina to beat Chicago outright, the Bills at Houston, the Bengals over Tampa Bay, the Titans over the Jets, the Raiders over Miami, the Packers at Minnesota and the Cowboys over the Giants. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/74f9146c-d27f-4851-b8a4-4103d043308f (scored 100) - Richard Sherman on Buffalo Bills: Sherman picked Seattle to beat New England 28-17 in the opener, ran through score picks for the rest of the week one slate (49ers, Cowboys, Bills, Bears, Vikings, Colts, Broncos), said the Seahawks would also beat the Cardinals, Commanders and Chargers, backed Dallas to win its division, and predicted Christian Gonzalez's deal would come in barely above Devon Witherspoon's. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/3b4f1960-4810-4136-8023-c9a76a0598a3 (scored 97.62) - Mike Kadlick on Buffalo Bills: Kadlick's Week 1 straight-up picks for all 16 games. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/934613ff-97e3-4894-a383-faa755bdfc35 (scored 100) - Albert Breer on Buffalo Bills: Breer's Week 1 straight-up picks for all 16 games. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/81a0a660-de14-460e-a283-c357a6a1bcda (scored 100) ## More roster spot calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - John Shipley on Jack Kiser: Shipley projects a full 16-player (plus one international/exemption spot) Jaguars practice squad for 2026, naming specific players at each position he expects to land there. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/c0a52b7c-63b2-4e18-b7da-9342dbbc111f (scored 0) - Cody Rourke on Mitchell Fraboni: Rourke names the Ravens as the bounce-back team most likely to be dangerous in the AFC again, and says Houston's defense alone should carry the Texans into the postseason. He also expects long snapper Mitchell Fraboni to be one of Denver's practice-squad elevations for the Chiefs game, and slots Pat Bryant as Denver's third receiver behind Courtland Sutton and Jaylen Waddle. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/ecf0b4d8-7096-41e4-b8bd-f37d5cdcd8d5 (scored 0) - Sayre Bedinger on Adam Prentice: Benninger expects Houston's elite defense to make them either a division winner or a wild card team, thinks Marvin Mims was trending toward being Denver's fourth receiver rather than just the return man, and figures Adam Prentice will be the Broncos' other practice-squad call-up. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/ac244b64-ba35-48be-bad9-b54ef4f4fcfc (scored 0) - Bob Morris on Adam Prentice: Morris predicts Jarrett Stidham holds the backup QB job behind Bo Nix, Adam Prentice makes the 53-man roster as the fullback/fourth back, and Lucas Krull gets cut. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/fbd4f215-eaf5-4bff-9431-d661656ff28a (scored 100) - Erick Trickel on Adam Prentice: After the Broncos' preseason opener, Trickel argued fullback Adam Prentice has shown enough value to earn a spot on the 53-man roster ahead of the team's fourth running back options (Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyler Badie, Cody Schrader). — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/3b8bcd8c-c4ab-4a02-9bb6-39d20cae9d37 (scored 100) - Nick Shook on Aaron Donald: Shook unveiled his first NFL power rankings of the year, putting the Rams first, the Broncos second and the defending champion Seahawks only third, with the Dolphins last. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/ea18c6ec-7662-4e66-91ed-4d0ef9d7d97d (scored 100) --- Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages. Full method: https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/methodology We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us: https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/corrections?pundit=ralph-ventre