Macky MacPherson

Buffalo Bills center Macky MacPherson (76) catches a ball during the NFL football training camp in Pittsford, N.Y., Monday, August 18, 2014. Photo by Joed Viera

Orchard Park, N.Y. — Macky MacPherson didn't see it coming.

The former Syracuse center knew the Buffalo Bills had to trim their roster to 75 players by Tuesday. And he knew there was a chance he could be among those cut to get the roster to that number. But he didn't know the Bills would be releasing players on Monday, a day early.

When he woke up on Monday, MacPherson went about it like any other day. Fully rested, he made his way to the stadium thinking it was another day of practice. Instead, he was greeted with a message he had been trying not to think about.

"They said that Coach Marrone wanted to talk to me, and you know what that means," MacPherson said in a phone interview Wednesday.

It wasn't easy for Bills coach Doug Marrone to call MacPherson into the room Monday. Marrone coached MacPherson at Syracuse, gave him a scholarship when no other Division I school would. People said MacPherson only got a scholarship because his grandfather coached Marrone when he played at Syracuse. But MacPherson rewarded Marrone's faith by becoming a three-year starter and a team captain his senior season.

That's why when MacPherson walked into Marrone's office on Monday, what transpired wasn't easy for the Bills' head coach.

"That was probably one of the toughest ones outside of my own personal experience," Marrone said after practice Monday.

MacPherson described the meeting as professional. Marrone has a responsibility to put together the best roster he can, and MacPherson realized there's only so many roster spots.

"It's not a matter of feelings or anything like that," MacPherson said.

For Marrone, this time of year is often about feelings, though. He remembers the feeling he had when he was cut numerous times during his NFL career. Marrone spent time with the Los Angeles Raiders, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings. Each stop ended similarly to MacPherson's with the Bills.

"You find yourself saying, ‘What’s next? What do I do? Do I continue to play? Do I move on with my life?' There are some unbelievable decisions, unbelievable stories," Marrone said prior to cut day. "Within a matter of waking up and going into a locker room, it’s a life-changing experience right there."

MacPherson is glad he didn't see it coming. He admits he was taken aback on Monday, but that was better than the alternative — a sleepless night wondering which direction his life would go the next day. Even when it comes to one of the toughest days of his life, MacPherson was thinking of the team.

"It was probably better that they let everyone go a day early just so they can get the people they knew were going to be playing in the game practicing," MacPherson said.

On Thursday, the Buffalo Bills play their final preseason game against the Detroit Lions. MacPherson will be watching, but not just to evaluate his chances of making the practice squad, something he said wasn't discussed in his meeting with Marrone. He's going to be pulling for his friends, some of which will be dealing with similar pressure with another cut day looming on Saturday.

"I know those guys and I've developed relationships with those guys," MacPherson said. "It's not like I've just lost interest in the Bills completely. I'd like to see those guys go out there and play well and I'm excited to see what they do."

As for MacPherson, he's continuing to work out and is hoping to get a call, either from the Bills or another team, in the coming weeks. Coaching is his 'Plan B,' but he's not worried about a fallback plan just yet.

"You can't say, 'I'm going to try a little bit for the NFL,'" MacPherson said. "It's such a hard business to get into you can't put half of yourself into it and expect to get anything out of it. You have to give it your all at all times for something like that."

Nobody can say MacPherson is putting anything less than his all. Marrone told him there were some physical limitations, namely his height and length, that were tough to overlook. MacPherson understood that going in.

At the beginning of training camp, he stood outside the Bills' locker room at St. John Fisher College and said he didn't want to look back and wonder, "What if?" He wanted to make sure when camp was over, even if he didn't make the roster, that he felt he had shown what he could do.

"I don't have any regrets looking back on it," MacPherson said. "I can't look back and say 'Oh if I did this more, if I did this more.' Just because I know I did as much as I could and I gave it my best shot."

And just like he did at the beginning of camp, MacPherson mentioned how appreciative he was of the opportunity, even if it didn't end quite like the opportunity Marrone gave him at Syracuse.

"That's something I'm really happy I had," MacPherson said. "I don't want to go through life thinking, 'What if I got into a training camp?'

"You can't ask for more than the opportunity."