3 Questions The Buffalo Bills Need To Answer
If you’re a sports fan in western New York, you have disappointment to spare. But, in June, hope runneth over. The 2024 Buffalo Bills will look measurably different than last year’s team.
Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, Mitch Morse, Micah Hyde, and Jordan Poyer are gone. This team will have a new identity.
The one constant is the face of the franchise, quarterback Josh Allen. He will have a nearly brand new corps of wide receivers, and that’s one of the big questions surrounding this team just five weeks before training camp opens.
Who Will Be Josh Allen’s Top Target?
At Organized Team Activity workouts, former Miami Dolphins receiver Chase Claypool was Allen’s most consistent target. Claypool does not have a roster spot locked on this team. He is joining Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Curtis Samuel, Khalil Shakir, and Florida State rookie Keon Coleman on the roster.
The OTA’s are crucial for Allen and his new receivers. Bringing those men together for Josh Allen falls to new Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady.
“At the end of the day, this is Josh Allen's offense, there's only one guy in the receiver room (Khalil Shakir) that's even caught a ball from Josh in a game," Brady said. "And so every rep in practice, the individual, there's such an intention behind what we're doing and why we're doing it."
Second-year tight end Dalton Kincaid became a favorite target of Allen as the 2023 season progressed. But Kincaid says it will be all of them together that made this team succeed. "The offense is just going to go through so many people this year," Kincaid explained after practice, "it's gonna help everybody out."
Who Will Call Defensive Plays in 2024?
The Bills have a new defensive coordinator for the 2024 season. Bobby Babich Jr. now has that title, but the question of who will call defensive plays is still a mystery. During OTAs, Babich had the headset and talked to the linebackers with the speakers in their helmets. But McDermott has not yet decided if he will continue to call the defensive plays.
“I’m going to continue to learn. I’m going to make mistakes at whatever that is that this job entails. I’ve got a great mentor (McDermott) who I’ve been with for a multitude of years, who I can lean on, and I’m really, really, really excited for this opportunity.”
Bobby Babich’s father worked on the Bills defensive staff for several years under head coach Sean McDermott. Babich Jr. said his father is giving him notes, “He’s a great support system. I think this is pretty neat for him and my mom to see… If I have any questions, he’s willing, but he’s never going to be overbearing on me.”
Why Top Bills Corner Skipped Workouts?
Cornerback Rasul Douglas is the only player on the roster to skip every offseason workout.
There are questions about why Douglas is not in Buffalo. Is he upset about his contract or something else?
A source told The Atlantic that his abscence is not related to his contract. Douglas will enter the final year of a three-year, $21 million deal he signed in Green Bay. He was a trade deadline acquistion by the Bills last season.
He was the Bills best corner down the stretch in 2023. Douglas turned his career around after being released by four teams in one season between 2020 and 2021.. The Bills sent a third-round pick to Green Bay for Douglas.
Olympian Joins Bills Roster for OTA’s
The game of football is brand new for Bills defensive lineman Gable Steveson. He has never played the game at any level. In fact, he had to get help getting his pads on for his first workout.
Steveson is a gold medal winning wrestler and that means something for head coach Sean McDermott. He was a two-time national wrestling champion in high school.
“He came in here (Monday), and I just had to try him a little bit, just try to grapple him a little bit,” edge rusher Von Miller said. “He was quick, and he grabbed me. I’m, like, ‘Ha ha! I see it! I feel it!’
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