Buffalo Bills’ defensive picture remains murky
Buffalo Bills’ defensive picture remains murky
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The basics are being explained at One Bills Drive this month. That’s what happens with roster and staff turnover, even the little things are new — directions to the cafeteria, locations of meeting rooms, new roster numbers and fresh faces.
Nickel corner Taron Johnson, one of the veteran mainstays in the secondary, acknowledged the change to the roster has a “definitely different [feel]. But it’s exciting.”
Quarterback Josh Allen and linebacker Von Miller are the only remaining team captains out of eight from 2023. Long-term staples who were here at the start of coach Sean McDermott’s tenure in 2017 — cornerback Tre’Davious White, safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde — are no longer with the team. Signs of this not being the same Bills have already appeared in a variety of forms.
Allen noted how he has put more intention and focus behind “just sitting with different guys in the cafeteria and getting to know them and their families.”
“I truly believe and again, I said a lot over the years, that having that relationship off the field pays dividends on the field,” Allen said.
Allen isn’t alone in that thought. McDermott spearheaded a team-bonding day in between OTAs for the group to get out into the community. On Wednesday, they split up in groups mixed from all ages and positions and visited 12 schools in western New York. They interacted in a variety of ways, from meeting with junior and senior high school athletes to an elementary reptile show.
“I got to believe that a big piece of this is them learning from the students and some of the questions that they’re asking of our players of, ‘Hey, they’re going through the same thing that we even go through,'” McDermott said. “So, I think it’s mutually beneficial here for both sides.”
The lingering questions, however, remain on the field, most notably for the defense, a unit that saw depth added across the board in the draft. At the top level, McDermott still has not determined who will be calling the plays for the defense this year, whether it’s him, as it was last year, or first-time defensive coordinator Bobby Babich. McDermott said answers will come during camp, giving Babich the opportunity to practice calling plays with sessions early on that are largely scripted.
The question mark surrounding a potential returning captain remains with Hyde, who said last week in the lead-up to his charity softball game that he has yet to decide whether he wants to retire or return to the Bills, but that those are the only options he is considering. He has remained in contact with McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane.