LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Buffalo Bills knew what they were getting into as they arrived at Halas Hall on Friday. These types of practices usually provide chippiness, and one week prior, the Chicago Bears hosted the Miami Dolphins for a joint practice.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott said he broached the topic with his team ahead of the session.
“We talked about it a little bit. Really nothing specific other than we’re coming out here with a purpose,” he said. “It’s for us to grow a little bit closer as a team and also for us to take another step as it relates to on the field as a team. It’s a physical sport. It’s going to be physical. From what I hear, it was rather physical against the Dolphins when they were out here. And so I would say that we should probably expect the same.”
The expectation was the reality. Throughout the practice, there were several instances of after-whistle activity. Sometimes, a block was held a bit too long for someone’s liking. Other times, there were borderline late hits, and then wars of words led to physical escalation.
In the end, neither the Bills nor the Bears suffered any injuries from the post-whistle activity, as both teams now prepare for a doubleheader with their preseason matchup at Soldier Field on Sunday night.
What stood out from the practice, and how does it relate to the Bills’ roster decisions? Here are several pertinent notes from Friday.
Will Allen play in preseason? McDermott might have seen enough
One of the biggest topics of conversation each preseason is how much the Bills intend to play star quarterback Josh Allen. McDermott has usually favored getting Allen work in a game, but the joint practice with the Bears presented an excellent opportunity for him to work with many of the receivers he’ll throw to during the season, except Khalil Shakir, who is dealing with a high-ankle sprain. McDermott was asked before practice if he would like Allen to get game reps — whether Sunday against the Bears or next week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I would love to, if you could put him in a bubble (and) guarantee me that he wasn’t going to get hurt,” McDermott said. “For every player, you’d love to be able to say, ‘Hey, let’s get out there and let’s play three good games, and we’ll ramp you up each game and so on and so forth.’ It’s just really hard to say that.
“So in Josh’s case, really using practice to see where he’s at and how he feels. And I’m giving him some ownership as well, which I think is important. He knows by now what he needs in order to be ready. Then this other piece over here is his time with healthy receivers. I think that’s probably kind of that next chapter of the book right now.”
Given the controlled atmosphere of a joint practice, facing another team’s defense with a quick whistle to end the play, there was a chance that if McDermott saw what he needed to see from Allen on Friday, Allen might stay on the sidelines for all three preseason games. The coach didn’t entrust anyone other than himself to ensure Allen’s safety, as he was firmly planted on the quarterback’s field, with a whistle in hand, at all times.
It wasn’t an outstanding start for Allen in seven-on-sevens, as he threw an interception, but he looked much sharper in team drills. In 11-on-11 work, Allen completed 14 of 20 passes not negated by a penalty. He had two touchdown passes in a red zone drill, then threw a pretty ball deep down the field to the front corner of the end zone to Keon Coleman for a touchdown.
In team drills, Allen connected with Joshua Palmer on three passes, Elijah Moore on three, Coleman on two, tight end Dalton Kincaid on two and Dawson Knox on two, while running backs Ray Davis and Ty Johnson had one each. The four receivers who lined up most with Allen throughout team drills were Coleman, Palmer, Moore and Tyrell Shavers.
Allen’s rapport with Palmer, Coleman, Moore and Kincaid might be the most meaningful in McDermott’s decision. Allen completed all but three passes to that group during team drills, and one was a drop by Kincaid. McDermott will need to review the film and talk it over with the staff, but Friday’s work might be enough to satisfy McDermott, along with practice next week, to keep Allen out of harm’s way until Week 1.
Why Samuel’s job isn’t safe, even as he returns to practice
With the cut deadline on Aug. 26, the time to make final impressions is now for many players trying to make the 53-man roster. Previously, we pointed out how the wide receiver room appears wide open past the first three spots.
That includes Curtis Samuel, the team’s oft-injured No. 4 wide receiver in 2024, who has not participated in a complete practice since the second day of training camp. We outlined why he might be on the roster bubble. He began the third practice July 25, hurt his hamstring and has not been a full participant since. He has yet to take a single rep in team drills in full pads.
The good news for him, though, is Samuel returned to practice Friday for the first time since suffering the hamstring injury. He went through positional drills early in practice, but he did not take a single rep in seven-on-seven, 11-on-11 or special teams. Samuel was limited with an exclamation point. Even with his return, this could be a clear case of falling too far behind the rest of the group. McDermott had some pointed comments when asked about Samuel.
“You know he’s been out really most of camp, so the urgency needs to be there for all these guys, and Curtis is no different,” McDermott said before practice. “We need to see how he fits into our offense this year. Availability is important, as well as special teams. When you’re not wide receiver No. 1, that’s true of everyone.”
A few things could put Samuel in trouble at the final cutdown. The first is uncertainty about how he fits in the Bills’ offense this year, because, frankly, they have no idea right now. He ended the 2024 season strong, and there was some offseason optimism, but missing most of training camp for a second straight year due to injury has likely frustrated the Bills. Meanwhile, Moore, Shavers and others have been on a clear upward trajectory since Samuel’s injury stint began.
The second, is McDermott’s availability comment. Samuel has had a difficult time being available. It’s the same conversation the Bills probably had about linebacker Baylon Spector, who was waived with an injury settlement last week. The team needs players it can depend on to be available when it matters most. Even though Samuel played in 14 games last year, his injury definitely limited how much they could use him.
Lastly, the special teams comment. That was perhaps McDermott’s most pointed statement. When the Bills signed Samuel in the 2024 offseason, they saw him as someone who could be one of their top three receivers. By the end of the year, he was somewhere between fourth and fifth. Now with three clearly ahead of him in Coleman, Palmer and Shakir, and Moore looking like he’s become really dependable, Samuel might be looking at fifth at best. He also does not play special teams, making McDermott’s comments land even harder.
Shavers can play special teams, even if he’s not asked to do a ton of it. He also plays all three receiver positions, whereas Samuel is best suited to one, with some occasional work in the slot. However, Moore is a better fit at slot receiver than Samuel.
On top of it all, the Bills’ cap situation changed after the James Cook contract. The deal opened up around $2.5 million of cap space this year, which allows them to make whatever roster decisions they would like, rather than having their hand forced by a situation such as Samuel’s contract. Samuel’s $6.9 million base salary is guaranteed, but because we’re beyond June 1, any remaining dead cap would carry over to next season if he’s released. Replacing Samuel’s deal with Shavers would add just over $500,000 to the cap, which the Bills could pretty easily clear with a couple of other moves.
Samuel looks like he’s, at best, No. 5 on the depth chart and has a lot of work to do, with only a few practices remaining to prove he would be more of an asset to the final roster than others. That includes Shavers, whom the Bills raved about, and Laviska Shenault, who has touched every special teams unit under the sun over the last two weeks in a multitude of roles. There is a clear path to the Bills moving on from Samuel at final cuts. It all depends on how next week goes.
Are the Bills nearing a decision on Hancock?
Near the conclusion of training camp practices at St. John Fisher University, fifth-round rookie defensive back Jordan Hancock spent all his time at safety. The Bills had explained it as a matter of numbers, as starters Taylor Rapp and Cole Bishop had missed time due to injuries. That carried into the first preseason game, where neither starting safety played, opening the door for an impressive full-time debut at safety by Hancock.
It feels incredibly notable that during the joint practice with the Bears, Hancock remained a full-time safety despite Rapp and Bishop appearing close to returning. Hancock lined up beside Damar Hamlin for most of practice with the second unit and even subbed in on the first-team defense when the Rapp and Bishop duo needed a few rest reps. The rookie Hancock seems to have clearly passed veteran Darrick Forrest, too.
Hancock has been an ascending player at safety since it recently became his default position. The Bills said this week they hadn’t decided on Hancock’s position, but how they used him, with everyone they had available, sure seems like a loud statement.
Trubisky strengthens lead in backup QB race
Although it wasn’t an overwhelming day for backup quarterback competitor Mitchell Trubisky in his return to Halas Hall, he saw his lead for the backup QB job grow, as Mike White struggled against the Bears in team drills. Trubisky completed 10 of 14 passes and kept the offense moving.
On the other hand, White threw an interception on his first pass attempt and followed it up by taking a sack. The interception was a big mistake, as he didn’t see the zone defender in front of his intended target and put it on a silver platter for the defensive back. White didn’t complete his first pass in team drills until his third set of reps. He finished the day 4 of 7 with the interception and two sacks.
It wasn’t a perfect day for Trubisky, though, as he fumbled a snap in team drills. Trubisky appears to be the leader in the clubhouse, and another win on Sunday over White could go a long way toward locking up the job.
Did not practice: WR Khalil Shakir (ankle), OT Tylan Grable (concussion), C Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (calf), CB Maxwell Hairston (knee), NCB Cam Lewis (calf).
Left practice early: DB Te’Cory Couch (hamstring), RB Darrynton Evans (hamstring).
(Photo of Josh Allen, right, and Joe Brady: Bryan Bennett / Getty Images)
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