Bills rookie brings edge, emotion to roster battle despite injury

ORCHARD PARK - Jude Bowry is a big, strong, 6-foot-5, 314-pound man who plays football with a flair for the menace, but that doesn’t mean the Buffalo Bills rookie offensive tackle can’t be reduced to a blubbering mass.

When his phone rang early on the third day of the 2026 NFL Draft and Brandon Beane told him he was going to be the team’s fourth-round pick, “I ain't going to lie to you, I cried. I cried a lot,” Bowry said later that day during a Zoom call with Buffalo-area media. “I was very emotional, but I worked towards this goal and I just know that it's just the beginning and I'm happy the Buffalo Bills took a chance on me.”

There have been no tears shed since he came to Buffalo, only a fiery, competitive spirit from the lineman who is battling with third-year veteran Tylan Grable and second-year vet Chase Lundt for the swing tackle position, meaning the backup to starters Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown.

The former Boston College standout, who turned 23 years old last week, plays with an edge which is a nice trait to have in the trenches.

“One hundred percent it’s important,” he said. “I feel like if you don't come out here with a chip on your shoulder … like everybody out here’s got something to prove, whether it's from the vets to all the way down to me. I feel like everybody’s got something to prove and if you come out here kind of like lollygagging and not really ready to go, then it's gonna show.”

No one’s going to accuse Bowry of lollygagging. As a fourth-round pick, he knows that nothing is going to be handed to him and if he takes even a single rep off, it could be one step toward the waiver wire and then possibly to the practice squad.

“Whether you were the first pick, he should have a chip on his shoulder, or where I'm at as a fourth-round pick, it's just a matter of proving yourself and proving that you are the guy that (other teams) missed on,” he said. “Proving the Buffalo Bills right. I think that's the biggest part of it, too. The draft is dead and gone, and all the 31 other teams are dead and you don't have to worry about them.

"You’ve got to worry about the organization you got and I’m blessed to be with the Buffalo Bills and I don't want nobody to take it away from me. So I’m going to bust my butt just to make sure like the next guy is not working harder than me or the guy across from me, he's not going to do me in. He's not going to do me crazy. So I want to inflict pain on them, not the other way around.”

Unfortunately, Bowry may not be inflicting pain on anyone for a little while. He suffered an injury in Saturday's 31-7 victory over the Browns and was wearing a walking boot as he left the locker room in Cleveland. There's no word on what the injury is because coach Joe Brady has refused to divulge specifics on any injury this summer and won't do so until it's mandate by the NFL when the regular season begins.

It has been a bit of a rough go for Bowry in the two preseason games as he has been beaten for three sacks and he also committed a holding penalty that wiped out a nice run by Frank Gore Jr. against Carolina.

“Just trying to get better at it, knowing that obviously it's a preseason game, so there are going to be some things where I’m getting used to in terms of, like, pace of the game and stuff like that,” he said. “But I'm just focused on getting better and just executing my job.”

Bowry’s first sporting love growing up was basketball, but as he neared high school he decided to give football a try, at first to help him develop a more physical presence on the basketball court. However, he fell in love with football and that led to him transferring to St. Frances Academy, a high school football power program in Baltimore.

Bowry played offensive and defensive line as a senior and helped St. Frances become the top-ranked team in Maryland. He was a three-star recruit and after fielding several offers, he chose Boston College, at the time coached by Jeff Hafley who is now the Miami Dolphins’ head coach, because “it felt like home.”

When Hafley left after the 2023 season to become the defensive coordinator for the Packers, former NFL head coach Bill O’Brien took over at Boston College and Bowry thrived. He started 23 games his last two years, mostly at left tackle, and he allowed just two sacks on 641 pass protection snaps. His footwork and nearly 34-inch arm length helped him keep pass rushers at bay, but he also packed a wallop when necessary.

Obviously, the speed of the Bills’ pass rushers is different than what he’s ever faced, and one thing offensive line coach Pat Meyers is preaching is to have a plan in place for every snap.

“Just dictating what you want to do before you want to do it, and what I mean by that is just having a plan preset in mind,” he said referring to being ready for counter whatever the opponent does. “I think I've taken steps in the right direction, but still a lot to work on and just getting with the older guys and taking time after practice, trying to get my technique down and really incorporate stuff that coach Meyers is teaching us.”

Bowry knows that unless Dawkins or Brown get hurt, he’s probably not playing much this season, but he’s taking positives from being able to learn from two accomplished vets.

“Just taking it day by day and not really looking at them as competition but looking at them as mentors and leaders,” he said. “Spencer and Dion have been great for me and my development just playing the game how I play the game.”

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills rookie brings edge, emotion to roster battle despite injury