Return of the Blue and Red observations: Coleman rebounds, Davis kicks
After a few drops early in Buffalo Bills' Return of the Blue and Red practice, wide receiver Keon Coleman rebounded and made a few huge catches Friday in front of the reported crowd of 39,224 fans.
Afew drops early in the practice seemed foreboding for Keon Coleman. The Buffalo Bills' wide receiver was playing in front of a busy Highmark Stadium in the Return of the Blue and Red, and he was off to a rocky start.
Coleman first dropped a pass right to him from quarterback Josh Allen. Later, he couldn't haul in a throw from Mitch Trubisky, letting it bounce off his upper body before it fell to the ground.
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman (0) makes a catch during the Return of the Blue and Red practice at Highmark Stadium on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Joshua Bessex/Buffalo News)
But Coleman persisted and he rebounded. Coleman had a few huge catches Friday in front of the reported crowd of 39,224 fans.
His first was a deep ball down the right sideline from Mike White with cornerback Christian Benford in coverage. Then, when the Bills worked on their hurry-up offense, Coleman had two highlight-reel worthy catches from Trubisky over cornerback Dane Jackson on the same drive.
But the strong finish to his day didn’t erase the drops from Coleman’s memory.
“You don’t move on, that (expletive) is still (ticking) me off,” Coleman said. “But it’s just, you gotta make the next play. You gotta go on.
“But I keep it in the back of my head. Like, I’ve got anger problems when it comes to that. So, you just, you don’t drop it. That’s the only thing that can get over it. You just keep going.”
And keep going he did. Coleman felt he was hitting on all cylinders Friday night.
“Pretty much everything (was working),” Coleman said. “Working my release, getting open and then quarterback giving me a catchable ball.”
Here are other observations from Friday’s practice.
Fans reach out as Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) gives high-fives during the Return of the Blue and Red practice at Highmark Stadium on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025.
(Joshua Bessex/Buffalo News)
Allen goes from helmet to headset
The big moment of Allen’s day came early. As per recent tradition, he ran out of the tunnel in a different helmet from the rest of his teammates, this year again donning the red helmet that the Bills will wear in Week 18. Allen worked his way around the stadium, tossing a football back and forth with different fans, making their day.But after that, Allen’s day was quieter. He went through warmups and individual drills, but during team drills, he swapped his red helmet for a headset. Allen did not go through team drills, and instead Trubisky, White and Shane Buechele split reps.
Bills running back Ray Davis looks on during the Return of the Blue and Red practice Friday at Highmark Stadium.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Davis shows hidden skillset
With Bills kicker Tyler Bass dealing with pelvic area soreness, a lingering question has been who is the Bills’ back-up kicker? Well, fans found out that it is running back Ray Davis.Bills punter and holder Brad Robbins also found out.
“Yup, I found out he could kick today,” Robbins said. “About the same time you guys did. Maybe a little bit of a head’s up.”
Bass was in uniform and came on the field for one kick, but ended up not actually kicking it, just going through the motions. Later in practice, Davis came on to attempt three field goals, all from 28 yards. After shanking the first one to the left, Davis made the next two.
His campaign for kicker predates Bass’ injury.
“I’ve been trying to convince them,” Davis said. “I used to kick at high school, so I was always telling them, ‘Hey, if we ever need a guy, I could be that back-up guy.’ But it was fun to come out here and do it.”
Davis said that he bought soccer cleats to be ready. Davis hasn’t kicked since high school, but he said he kicked a 57-yarder during high school and was showing the video to Bills coaches.
“I was telling everybody, whoever wanted to listen,” Davis said.
The hope is that the Bills will never need Davis, but Bass was there to give him advice on Friday.
“Pretty good,” Robbins said on Davis’ performance. “I’d like him to be the next big thing as a kicker.”
Robbins’ real wish is that Davis becomes a kicker while carrying over his running-back salary, thus raising the bar for kicker pay across the league.
“It’s good for the boys, it’s good for the boys,” Robbins said. “But all jokes aside, I thought it was pretty impressive. I didn’t know he could kick. … I think he’s solid.”
Injuries keep piling
The Bills didn’t escape Friday’s practice unscathed. Wide receiver Khalil Shakir left practice after going down on the field and did not return. Linebacker Shaq Thompson left through the tunnel and did not return.Offensive lineman Mike Edwards was down on the field for a bit during team drills and needed medical attention. Edwards was able to walk off on his own and returned to practice after spending a little time on the sidelines.
Defensive end Joey Bosa, cornerback Tre’Davious White and linebacker Matt Milano all had veteran rest days.
Cornerback Maxwell Hairston was present on crutches and stayed on the sideline with the Bills during practice.