LINK: https://www.audacy.com/wgr550/sports/bills/elam-has-been-shining-since-otas-started
Orchard Park, NY (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Bills players had the opportunity to play in front of a record crowd of over 36,000 fans in Orchard Park on Friday for the Blue and Red practice.
It was the first chance for the fans to see the improvement in Kaiir Elam. The Bills 2022 first-round pick has had an excellent training camp and is looking more like the guy the Bills thought they were drafting. Elam feels like there are reasons why he’s been better,
“Just being more consistent, appreciating the moment and everything I’ve been through and to appreciate and to learn has helped me to become who I am right now.
“It’s also playing fast a free and having great coaches that expect perfection from me on every play and I’m staying poised and not to get too high even when I do make plays and just staying on my technique and my eyes and just making sure to be the player I know I can be.”
Elam showed the fans how he’s been playing by intercepting Josh Allen on Friday. He said,
“Just reading Josh and go and high point the ball and go take it away. I know coach is going to let me have it about celebrating too early.”
We can go back to OTAs and Elam was making plays back then. He said it validates to work that he puts in,
“For sure because I’m a firm believer in what you put in is what you get out of it. It might not happen when you want it to or when you think it should, but it’s going to always show so now my teammates know they can count on me and I’ll be there when they need me to.”
Elam counts on learning from guys like Rasul Douglas and Taron Johnson. He said Johnson is always there for him,
“He’s seen a lot more than I definitely have, he has double the wisdom and knowledge that I have in the NFL, so he’s been a guy that anyone can lean on, not just myself.”
Elam arrived in camp with a different outlook. He said,
“I just want to be a guy that my teammates can count on for them to be out there and do my job and I really believe that I can take the ball away at a high level, so I’ve been working on what’s going to get me there, my feet, my eyes and giving great effort.”
Elam seemed genuinely appreciative of all the fans that came out and he said,
“It’s amazing, it’s so inspiring to see how many people that really, truly care about us and that take the time and effort to come to a practice, I mean it’s not even a live game yet, so it’s just crazy to see and that’s why you want to play for Buffalo.”
The Bills had Saturday off and will be back at St. John Fisher for camp on Sunday.
By Paul Hamilton on 08/03/2024
