Bills enter 2024 training camp in search of new leaders
The Bills got rid of most of their captains, so the younger players will have to step up.
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Leaders, by definition, are extraordinary. Followers are far easier to find.
The Buffalo Bills hope to prove uncommon men can be replaceable parts. They enter 2024 training camp after an unprecedented purge of captains. The roster is significantly greener and undergoing a soft reset in both economics and identity.
“With this,” quarterback Josh Allen said after an offseason workout, “there is a lot of opportunity for our guys that are in that room as an offense and as a team to evolve and grow and become a new version of the Buffalo Bills.”
Buffalo’s locker room elected eight captains last year. Allen and edge rusher Von Miller are the sole returnees. And if Miller can’t make an impact on the field, then his influence won’t resonate anymore.
Several will wear a “C” for the first time and carry on the next iteration of Buffalo’s established culture. In the case of former captain Stefon Diggs, the Bills anticipate addition by subtraction. The micro-aggressive star receiver came to be viewed as more trouble than he was worth. By trading Diggs to the Houston Texans and eating his enormous dead-salary-cap allotment, the Bills expect healthier leadership options to materialize.
Buffalo also has two new coordinators from this time last year. Joe Brady is entering his first season as offensive coordinator. McDermott elevated Bobby Babich to defensive coordinator, although it hasn’t been decided – or at least announced – whether McDermott will abdicate play-calling duties. Greybeard defensive coaches John Butler (secondary, passing game coordinator) and Eric Washington (assistant head coach, D-line) also departed.
“In the way of taking a hit with leadership roles,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said, “there’s so many guys that have been picking everybody’s brain that everybody is a leader in their own way. From the inside, I don’t want to say it’s not a big deal, but we’re going to be OK regardless.”
Allen is at the forefront but must enhance his profile further. As one of the faces of the NFL, the “Madden 24” cover boy has gone to great lengths at One Bills Drive to be just one of the guys. Part of Allen’s aw-shucks charm has been carrying himself as just one of the guys, always approachable and eager to please. He has been criticized internally for not separating himself from the other players, for not acting more ennobled.
Bills owner Terry Pegula has implored coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane to coax more of an executive demeanor out of Allen, a transformation that never took last year and likely added to Allen’s rutty play through 10 games.
Allen seemed to confirm he has been reflecting on that criticism.
“As a franchise quarterback, guys that get to their second contract, you’re not getting paid just to be the quarterback,” Allen said. “You’re getting paid to be the best leader that you can be. The best quarterback, obviously, comes with that. Leadership looks like a lot of different things. You wear many hats in this building.
“Sometimes, it’s not the easiest thing. I feel like I’m one of the guys, and sometimes I have to remind myself that you’re looked at a little bit differently. Guys rely on you a little bit more.”
Though not a new leader, Josh Allen’s leadership style is evolving. (Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)
Through McDermott’s first six seasons, the Bills elected 41 captain spots, but moved on from only seven of them after that season. Three of the seven — center Eric Wood, defensive tackle Kyle Williams, linebacker Lorenzo Alexander — retired. So the Bills chose to part ways with only four reigning captains in the next offseason.
Buffalo declined to keep six who wore a “C” for 17 seasons combined: receivers Diggs and Gabriel Davis, center Mitch Morse, safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde and special-teams linebacker Tyler Matakevich.
Hyde hasn’t committed to continuing his career. There’s a greater than 0 percent likelihood Hyde could return to the Bills, although the club has planned for that not to be the case.
Such turnover becomes necessary once a team identifies its franchise quarterback. His gigantic second contract makes it impossible to spread big money around the roster. Difficult financial decisions are essential to long-term success. Some terrific players cannot be retained. It creates a revolving personnel door to accommodate the superstar quarterback’s longevity.
Allen percolates with a youthful exuberance, but he turned 28 in May.
“It’s kind of crazy to think,” Allen said, “that I’m going into my seventh season.”
Youngish leaders must emerge. Just seven Bills remain from the 2019 roster. Dawkins, linebacker Matt Milano and long snapper Reid Ferguson (the last Bills draft picks not selected by Beane) are the longest-tenured Bills, all entering their eighth seasons.
Top candidates to ascend include running back James Cook, receiver Khalil Shakir, tight ends Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid and center Connor McGovern on offense, inside linebacker Terrel Bernard, edge rusher A.J. Epenesa and Greg Rousseau, cornerback Christian Benford and safety Taylor Rapp on defense.
McGovern and Bernard play positions with inherent leadership demands, barking out directions and alerts before each play. Rapp also will be in the spotlight as the roster’s top safety, a critically important position in McDermott’s defensive philosophies.
“It definitely adds a little sense of urgency to be more of a vocal leader,” said Knox, who along with defensive tackle Ed Oliver are the lone 2019 draft picks still around. “I think my leadership style is more one-on-one, more personal, more locker room stuff. I’m not going to be the guy giving hype speeches or doing any of the rah-rah gameday stuff.
“But I think, realizing Josh and Dion are the only guys on the offense that have been here longer than me, it’s taking that leadership to that next level, having that extra confidence to speak up when I see something that might not be going right or really check on a guy that might not be doing well off the field.”
The training camp roster holds just six players who will be older than 30 this year. Two newcomers, receiver Mack Hollins and backup right tackle La’el Collins are alone on offense. The others are Miller, defensive tackles DaQuan Jones and DeShawn Williams and punter Sam Martin.
Miller, 35, is the oldest. His trophy case and experience warrant a captaincy, but diminished production always undercuts a leader’s effectiveness. Miller remains a question mark. The two-time Super Bowl champ played 14 games, counting playoffs, yet failed to register a sack. He eked three quarterback hits on the 198 opponent dropbacks he saw. Pro Football Focus charted Miller with the seventh-most pass-rushing snaps, but he ranked 18th in pressure percentage of those with at least 125 attempts.
Miller voluntarily reworked his contract to give Buffalo more room under the salary cap. One has to wonder if he also would have been among the veteran cuts if his terms weren’t so prohibitive.
Regardless of Miller’s role in 2024, the roster has been overhauled. The next wave of leadership forces must arise for the Bills to maintain their AFC East dominance.
“As a human being, it feels a little different because of the different personas, different characters within the room,” Benford said. “But the football doesn’t feel too different because we’ve already set the standard. We’ve embedded what we’re working for, what we’re working towards.”