What we learned at every position in the first week of Bills training camp

After a long wait, the Buffalo Bills are officially back in full swing after completing the first week of practices. Through seven days, the Bills conducted six nearly two-hour long practices at St. John Fisher University — two of which were fully padded.

Along the way, we’ve seen some solid performances, depth chart movement and early answers to questions about roles as they enter what they hope to be a Super Bowl year in 2025. What has stood out so far?

Here’s a position-by-position look.

Quarterback

The Bills’ backup competition is completely open between Mitchell Trubisky and Mike White, and the team seems nowhere close to a decision at this point. Through the first six days of practice, Trubisky and White have split time with the second-team offense so the team can get a good look at both.

Trubisky delivered his best ball of camp Tuesday, sending a deep ball to Deon Cain for a touchdown. But just a few plays before, he threw across his body across the field in what became an interception. Between the two, White has been the more consistent player and definitely the more decisive passer in the pocket.

With the Bills being on the hook on the cap for roughly the same amount, regardless of who wins the competition, this has looked every bit like a straight-up battle that may not have a conclusion until the Bills go through all three preseason games.

Running back

The Bills returned the same exact group from last year’s training camp, with the likelihood that they will keep the same three running backs on the 53-man roster as last year, too. That trio consists of James Cook, Ty Johnson and Ray Davis, but the big question is if the Bills will utilize Cook on third downs more often than they did in 2024. For the most part, it was Johnson’s job throughout last season, but there is at least an external push from Cook to prove that he can be a three-down back.

Cook has said he wants to play on third downs more this year, but there really hasn’t been much indication through the first six practices that Cook is getting considerably more time with the first-team offense than Johnson and Davis. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady said he doesn’t feel any pressure to get Cook more work on third downs and that he’s had experience with players in their contract years before.

As much as Cook might want to become an every-down back, the Bills may not feel the need to fix what isn’t broken, as their running back results were outstanding last season.

Wide receiver

Injuries have defined the early stages of camp so far for the Bills. As of Tuesday, the Bills were without five wide receivers due to injuries, and three of the five (Curtis Samuel, Elijah Moore and Tyrell Shavers) look to have a legitimate chance of making the 53-man roster this year.

Franchise quarterback Josh Allen has had to take reps with players he really hasn’t thrown to before, with the likes of Stephen Gosnell, Kristian Wilkerson and Deon Cain getting first-team time just to give a rest to the top trio of Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman and Joshua Palmer.

Coleman has had an inconsistent camp throughout as he’s entering a pivotal second season. He has put together some good days where he has some really flashy reps, though that’s been coupled with some missed opportunities in contested catch situations and with some flat-out drops. Proving he can either be a consistent threat in contested catch situations or generate more separation before the catch will be the ultimate test of whether he can take the step forward the Bills are hoping for in 2025.

Tight end

Some feared the worst when third-year player and 2023 first-round pick Dalton Kincaid missed Monday’s practice with what the team called “knee soreness.” He had knee injuries to both legs last season, unraveling his year and forcing the team to defend its faith in him heading into the season.

Kincaid wore a sleeve on his left leg, the one that he suffered a PCL injury to last season, on his one day off — though he returned to practice in full Tuesday after missing only one session.

Kincaid has been heavily involved with the first-team offense as their other primary tight end, Dawson Knox, has missed every practice with a hamstring injury. Without Knox, rookie and fifth-round pick Jackson Hawes has really had some nice moments as a run blocker, and some of his reps earned some immediate high praise from his coaches.

Offensive line

Through the first week of practice, one of the big standouts to this point has been the play of starting right tackle O’Cyrus Torrence. He has been a force in the run game, and during pass blocking one-on-ones, Torrence has dominated many of his reps.

The third-year guard seemingly took a big step forward during the second half of the 2024 season and has continued building on that to begin training camp. The Bills and his teammates both seem excited about what Torrence’s third year can become, as he becomes extension-eligible after the year.

Torrence’s development could easily impact the team’s decision-making on extensions to most, if not all, of the impending free agent trio of Cook, starting center Connor McGovern and starting left guard David Edwards.

From an injury perspective, starting right tackle Spencer Brown hasn’t practiced once since training camp began due to what the team called a “flare up” of his back. Brown has a history of back injuries, even requiring surgery in a previous offseason.

He has been highly visible at each practice on the sideline with teammates. It may be a case of the Bills knowing what they have in Brown, who was one of their best players in 2024, and taking all the time and space they can while they have the freedom to do so, still with over a month to go before the start of the regular season. The Bills have generally been pretty cautious with injuries the last two years — especially if they occur during the summer.

Defensive end

Top defensive end Greg Rousseau has had a great start to training camp, just as he has had for several years in a row. The biggest wonder is where the Bills could deploy him in 2025, as the team moved him around between the left and right side for much of the last two seasons due to the presence of other big-name pass rushers.

To this point in camp, Rousseau has been nearly exclusively at left defensive end, working against right tackles. That side is his most natural position of the two, and even when paired with Joey Bosa, who has had some career success rushing from the left, Rousseau has been the player on the left side of the formation. Although it’s not everything, keeping him on the left could be a key in helping to unlock his pass-rushing ceiling.

The “plan” for Bosa has been evident through the first week of camp. The Bills are being highly intentional with how much and when they are giving Bosa practice reps. He’s already had a pair of days off from team drills, and he hasn’t gotten a vast amount of work during 11-on-11s in the four days he was available.

The Bills are solely focused on the long game with Bosa, favoring his availability in the regular season and playoffs as opposed to what, for him, are ultimately non-impactful snaps during camp. It remains to be seen if Bosa will be a starter in 2025, and how many snaps that means each game, even if he is on the field for the first defensive snap each week.

Outside of Bosa, second-year defensive end Javon Solomon has put together another strong start to camp as a pass rusher. He earned a consistent special teams role in 2024 and needs to show more as a run defender to earn consistent playing time on defense in 2025. However, if he continues to have pass-rushing impact during practice, there is some appeal to working him in on obvious pass-rushing situations once the regular season arrives.

Defensive tackle

There hasn’t been enough of a sample size to really judge how the young defensive tackles have performed so far, as the Bills brought in the pair of T.J. Sanders (second-round pick) and Deone Walker (fourth-round pick). With only two days of padded sessions, there have been some good reps here or there, but not enough to make significant conclusions.

In terms of role, though, the Bills have had a pretty clear plan for their backup groups. For the most part, the three-technique group has consisted of Ed Oliver, Sanders and veteran Larry Ogunjobi. The one-technique group has been chiefly DaQuan Jones, Deone Walker, DeWayne Carter and Zion Logue. We’ll get more performance information, as physicality is so important at the position, as the padded practices continue to mount.

Linebacker

The most compelling part about the Bills’ linebacker room is the backup battle. The top three of Terrel Bernard, Matt Milano and Dorian Williams are well established. Past that, it looks highly likely for Buffalo-native Joe Andreessen to make the team, though roles are up for grabs.

Andreessen is battling Baylon Spector for the backup middle linebacker job, as the two have split reps during camp. Spector may be in a battle against himself to make the team, as not only head coach Sean McDermott but also defensive coordinator Bobby Babich have made comments about the need to “be available,” and Spector has struggled with injuries during his three years in Buffalo.

The big question remains about whether the Bills keep five or six linebackers. That puts Spector, veteran Shaq Thompson and 2024 fifth-round pick Edefuan Ulofoshio all on the potential bubble for the 53-man roster. Thompson has looked better than expected after suffering a torn Achilles last September, and is making an early push to make the team outright.

Cornerback

The cornerback group took a potentially massive turn on Tuesday, as rookie and first-round pick Maxwell Hairston suffered what teammates described as a “non-contact injury” after a “freak trip up” during an individual drill. Video of the evaluation following the injury showed the team’s athletic trainers looking at Hairston’s right knee, and the rookie did not return to practice.

Hairston has been in a battle with veteran cornerback Tre’Davious White for the starting job opposite Christian Benford, though White has taken the vast majority of first-team reps since camp began. White has also been the better and more consistent player of the two, as Hairston has had good moments, but needs to fine-tune some techniques that led to losses on reps. Even without the injury, White looked to be the favorite to head into Week 1 as the starter, though there was a long way to go before the regular season began.

If Hairston’s injury is as serious as it’s feared, that likely secures White’s spot in the starting lineup in his return to Buffalo after one year away. Should Hairston land on an injury list, it would also potentially absolve the Bills from having to cut someone they may not have wanted to from their cornerback room, with bubble players such as Ja’Marcus Ingram or Dane Jackson potentially being on the cut line.

It would also open up the possibilities of them going to free agency at cornerback, though they’d probably like to see what they have in-house before pulling that tab. On the flip side, Benford has looked like one of the best players on the field, and should his current playing level continue, he seems primed to make another leap after signing a long-term extension with the team that keeps him signed through 2029.

Safety

This time last year, the Bills had a completely open competition for the starting safety job that Damar Hamlin ultimately won, thanks in part to both his consistency and the rest of the competition having multi-week injuries last summer. This year, the competition has been anything but open. When Cole Bishop has been available, he has been the first-team safety along with Taylor Rapp throughout practices when the full first-team defense has taken reps. The Bills are hoping for a big jump from Bishop in what should be his first full season starting, as he is a critical piece for defensive improvement in 2025.

(Top photo: Shawn Dowd / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA Today via Imagn Images)