After a summer of change, the Bills are back and in front of fans for their first training camp practice of 2024.
On Wednesday, veterans will report, joining rookies for the official start of camp at St. John Fisher University, the Bills’ preseason summer home. They’ve held training camp at the suburban Rochester (Pittsford) private college campus since 2000, with the exception of 2020 and 2021. Professional athletes will compete for jobs and build for this fall’s season all while staying in college dorms and eating in student common areas. While it’s become increasingly common for teams to use their own facilities — as the Bills did for two years due to pandemic restrictions — coach Sean McDermott is a proponent of holding camp away from home.
“We want to get away. It’s a great facility here,” McDermott told reporters on the first day of camp in 2022, when the Bills made their Fisher return. “Everything’s in close proximity where you can get around the campus rather easily, the space is good for us. And getting away allows us a chance to come together as a team, spend some time together maybe after meetings, before practice, get guys hanging out a little bit more where they can develop those bonds that’ll bind us during the year when it gets tough.”
The Bills have 10 Fisher practices open to the public (through previously distributed free tickets) starting Wednesday. They also will hold their “Return of the Blue & Red” practice at Highmark Stadium Friday, Aug. 2, at 5:30 p.m.
As much as who’s in attendance, this year’s camp will be just as notable for who’s no longer there. Or rather, how the Bills plan to replace a few looming vacancies.
Here’s what I’ll be looking (and listening) for as the Bills build up to their first preseason game on Aug. 10 against the Chicago Bears:
Where will the
Diggs (and Davis) targets go?
Buffalo said goodbye to several influential locker room presences and key starters in the spring. But no subtraction sent as much of a shock through the fanbase as the trade of Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans.
The reasons for Diggs’ exit have long been litigated in the court of public opinion. But the effect of his move (and to a lesser extent Gabe Davis’ signing with Jacksonville) leaves a giant chunk of targets up for grabs.
The Bills targeted Diggs 160 times last season, in line with his first three seasons’ worth: 166 in 2020, 164 in 2021 and 154 in 2022. Since 2020, he’s ranked first, fifth, fifth and seventh in targets among all NFL pass-catchers. Davis, meanwhile, was third on the team with 81 targets last year. In total 56.5% of Josh Allen’s 2023 targets went to players no longer on Buffalo’s roster.
So where will they go in 2024? Allen might rely more on Dalton Kincaid in his second year and Khalil Shakir in his third. He also has several fresh faces in the huddle, most notably rookie Keon Coleman and veteran free agent Curtis Samuel.
New safeties
Barring a fresh-off-the-couch return from Micah Hyde, Buffalo is set to replace both parts of its stalwart veteran safety combo, with Jordan Poyer cut and signed in Miami.
Taylor Rapp re-signed with Buffalo after mostly playing the third safety role behind Hyde and Poyer last year. Buffalo signed fifth-year vet Mike Edwards, the former Buc and Chief, and drafted Cole Bishop out of Utah in the second round. And let’s not forget Damar Hamlin, who played sparingly last year after his remarkable return to the field. Which two of these safeties will grab the spots long held by Hyde and Poyer?
Is the ‘old’ Von Miller back?
A year ago, one of the biggest questions around this time was just when we might see Von Miller on the field again, coming off his 2022 ACL injury. But what fans saw last year, once Miller returned to the field was an old Von Miller, rather than the Von Miller of old.
After a full offseason and training camp, rather than one focused on rehab, could Miller look more like the guy Brandon Beane offered a massive contract to back in 2022? Last year, he gave the Bills next to nothing in 12 games and two in the playoffs, so there’s nowhere to go but up. But the Bills are still paying him like a franchise cornerstone and have to be hoping to see something close to the superstar he was just two years ago.
How will Babich influence the ‘D’?
The Bills have two new full-time coordinators, between Joe Brady (who replaced Ken Dorsey mid-season) and Bobby Babich. McDermott elevated Babich, his linebackers coach, to the defensive coordinator spot after choosing not to replace Leslie Frazier in ‘23. Babich looks like a rising star, having held three different defensive positions since joining the staff in 2017.
But just what kind of coordinator will Babich be? McDermott has yet to confirm whether Babich will call defensive plays. Some clarity should come to that question in camp or by the preseason.
Special teams competitions
Can a rookie punter unseat Sam Martin? It’s hardly the most glamorous competition on the roster, but the Bills are set to pick a punter this summer after signing undrafted free agent Jack Browning out of San Diego State. He’ll try to push out Martin, an 11-year vet and Buffalo’s punter since 2022.
The Bills also have an opening at punt returner after Deonte Harty’s exit. Last year, Khalil Shakir and Ty Johnson also returned punts and/or kicks. Coleman also returned punts at Florida State.
