Iowa football: Ike Boettger will be fighting for a roster spot this preseason

Former Iowa football player Ike Boettger had quite the journey last year, but it could be turned up a notch as the Bills made big investments on the line.

Heading into his senior season with the Iowa football team, Iike Boettger was considered a potential mid-round draft pick, but injuries derailed Boettger’s season. This played a key result in the Cedar Falls native going undrafted, but the Buffalo Bills quickly swooped in to pick him as an undrafted free agent.

Despite impressing during the preseason, the Bills let Boettger go in the last round of cuts. The Kansas City Chiefs put a claim in for the Hawkeye, and he made his way to Missouri.

That journey was short lived as he was released after week one (there was a guy coming back from suspension). The Bills hopped right back into the fold and brought Boettger back, and he spent the right of the season near the Canadian border with Buffalo.

With the Bills season shot, Boettger managed to see game action in four of the last five games of the NFL season, giving him valuable NFL experience.

Although he showed enough to stick around his rookie season, year two could be a bit more difficult as the Buffalo Bills restocked their offensive line this season. The Bills signed three unrestricted free agents who are expected to start on the offensive line and they drafted Oklahoma product Cody Ford in the second round of this year’s draft. They didn’t stop there though as they added three more guys in free agency who are expected to be valuable depth players on the line.

With these acquisitions, it’s easy to see Boettger has his work cut out for him.

Currently, he is listed on the fourth string on Buffalo’s depth chart.

What cannot be underestimated is how much Buffalo does like Boettger. There is a reason they didn’t put him back on the practice squad after Kansas City waived him. They love the guy.

Sometimes that isn’t enough though.

My prediction for Boettger this year is to be released in the final cuts and signed to Buffalo’s practice squad. There is a chance he gets picked up late in the season by another team that is devastated by injuries, but I believe it’s a year on the practice squad for Boettger.