# Ralph Ventre: Ventre expects Christian Benford's toe injury to sideline him for at least the Week 4 game against New England, and believes the Bills will have to add a cornerback to the 53-man roster this week — likely by moving Benford to injured reserve — with practice squad rookie Kani Walker the most likely player elevated.

**Claimed:** Sep 28, 2026
**Pundit:** Ralph Ventre — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/ralph-ventre
**Outlet:** Sports Illustrated — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/sports-illustrated
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.si.com/nfl/bills/onsi/christian-benford-injury-likely-makes-bills-roster-move-inevitable-week-4

3 checkable claims — 2 roster spot calls and 1 availability call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 3 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

1 of 3 have settled so far, averaging 0 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> With Benford seen wearing a walking boot after Sunday's game, one has to believe he's in line to miss at least one game.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Christian Benford to make the roster**
  - Kind: Roster Spot Calls · About: Christian Benford, Buffalo Bills
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **With Benford seen wearing a walking boot after Sunday's game, one has to believe he's in line to miss at least one game. ... the Bills may be able to get away with simply elevating one of their practice squad cornerbacks on October 4 against the New England Patriots.**
  - Kind: Availability Calls · About: Christian Benford, Buffalo Bills
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Kani Walker to make the roster**
  - Kind: Roster Spot Calls · About: Kani Walker, Buffalo Bills
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Christian Benford — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/christian-benford
- Buffalo Bills — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bills
- Kani Walker — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kani-walker

## What others said about the same people

- Chris Simms on Buffalo Bills: Simms went through the entire Week 3 slate with straight-up winners and predicted final scores, taking Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle, the Giants, Baltimore, New Orleans, Minnesota, San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia. He also expected Zay Flowers and Puka Nacua to sit, Kyler Murray to play, and said Marvin Harrison Jr. projects as no better than a good No. 2 or high-end No. 3 receiver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/662b7ba3-1bf6-4ad0-9f93-9f2ab83143fd (scored 100)
- Chris Long on Buffalo Bills: Long liked the Rams over the Broncos on Sunday night even without Puka Nacua, and expected the Bills to beat the winless Chargers in Buffalo. He also backed the Bengals over the Steelers, expected an angry Detroit team to handle the Jets, and still thought both the Lions and Vikings could win the NFC North. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3df9ea25-e57f-4fd7-b20c-c910a1c3633a (scored 100)
- Carmen Vitali on Buffalo Bills: In the show's weekly picks segment Vitali took the Broncos over the Rams, the Ravens over the Cowboys in Rio, Tampa at home over Minnesota, the Bills over the Chargers and the Eagles on the road in Chicago. She also agreed that Caleb Williams would be out roughly two to three weeks. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/948bc684-6a05-4cb4-a5ff-72861da00102 (scored 100)
- Tracy Sandler on Buffalo Bills: Sandler predicted Caleb Williams would miss two to three weeks with his hamstring injury, and in the picks segment took the Broncos, Ravens, Vikings, Bills and Bears (switching off an earlier Tampa pick). — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/74f12600-9587-488a-af00-2e8c11643531 (scored 100)
- Chris Broussard on Buffalo Bills: Broussard picked the Bills to beat the Chargers in a competitive, higher-scoring game, said the Chiefs will rout the Dolphins, and for upset alert parlayed the Patriots over the Jaguars and the Raiders over the Saints. He also restated his Cowboys-versus-Ravens Super Bowl matchup pick. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/dee7585c-6da6-4afc-9954-ff32cf8de4e3 (scored 100)
- Dwight Freeney on Buffalo Bills: Freeney said the Chargers' volume of mistakes is too great to fix in a week and that fans shouldn't expect Los Angeles to beat Buffalo. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/128f1ccf-a606-47eb-b077-4f74a9999bf5 (scored 100)

## More roster spot calls

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Jeff Kerr on Zach Ertz: Kerr expects Zach Ertz to be elevated from the practice squad and play in the Eagles' Week 3 Monday night game against the Bears, and to serve as Philadelphia's clear TE1 with Dallas Goedert out. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7e4fa8de-f88c-4d45-b568-49992a356539 (scored 0)
- Jeff Kerr on Chance Campbell: Kerr ranks the Eagles' eight undrafted free agents by their chances of making the initial 53-man roster, with Kapena Gushiken the most likely and predicts at least one UDFA makes the 53. He also forecasts practice squad spots for Zion Wilson, Deontae Lawson and Maximus Pulley, and a release for long snapper Rocco Underwood. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6ec1d507-c7b6-4873-a0a2-76817706e297 (scored 100)
- Carter Bahns on Jeshaun Jones: A CBS Sports piece expects suspended Vikings receiver Jeshaun Jones to lose his roster battle and be cut by the Aug. 30 deadline, given Minnesota's established receiver group. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/98c7155f-d05c-43cb-8c03-4f50d43211a8 (scored 0)
- Jeff Kerr on Chance Campbell: Kerr's third Eagles 53-man roster projection names the players he expects to make the team at each position, with Cole Payton, Elijah Moore, Johnny Wilson, Gabe Hall and Rocco Underwood left off; he also predicts Underwood is exposed to waivers and returns to the practice squad, Deontae Lawson lands on the practice squad, and Eli Stowers is the TE3. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2120c4ea-7113-4ebf-9ebc-0d4a62d83c3a (scored 100)
- Jeff Kerr on Chance Campbell: Kerr's updated 53-man roster projection for the Eagles after eight training camp practices, naming which players make the team at each position plus depth-chart placements like Wicks as WR2, Mundt as TE2, Kendall as third guard, Bell as third tackle, and Epps/Carter battling to start at safety. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/328a952b-d6b4-4065-aac9-0029421fb50f (scored 100)
- Thomas Martinez on Patrick Herbert: Martinez projects the Chargers' starting lineups on offense and defense for their Week 3 game at Buffalo, with injuries forcing several changes — Oronde Gadsden II at tight end, Trevor Penning at left guard, Jamaree Caldwell at defensive tackle and RJ Mickens at safety — while expecting Ladd McConkey to play and Marquez Valdez-Scantling to debut. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/bcc0c9e2-6313-45af-bc99-f1cd46806da6 (scored 0)

---

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.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.co/corrections?pundit=ralph-ventre