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Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 84F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%..
Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Heavy and torrential downpours at times. Low 71F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Lindsey Meys/Batavia Daily News | Fullback/tight end Reggie Gilliam signed a two-year contract extension before Sunday’s practice. The deal ties Gilliam to the team through the 2024 season.
Lindsey Meys/Batavia Daily News | Projected starting guard Rodger Saffold practiced for the first time since training camp began.
Lindsey Meys/Batavia Daily News | Bills receiver Jake Kumerow (middle) had a nice day on Sunday. Kumerow previously missed time during camp due to muscle tightness.
Lindsey Meys/Batavia Daily News | Bills receiver Isaiah Hodgins signs autographs for fans after practice. Hodgins has been one of the under-the-radar stars of training camp.
Lindsey Meys/Batavia Daily News | Bills quarterback Josh Allen waves to a young fan on his way to the practice field before Sunday’s session.
Lindsey Meys/Batavia Daily News | Fullback/tight end Reggie Gilliam signed a two-year contract extension before Sunday’s practice. The deal ties Gilliam to the team through the 2024 season.
Lindsey Meys/Batavia Daily News | Projected starting guard Rodger Saffold practiced for the first time since training camp began.
Lindsey Meys/Batavia Daily News | Bills receiver Jake Kumerow (middle) had a nice day on Sunday. Kumerow previously missed time during camp due to muscle tightness.
Lindsey Meys/Batavia Daily News | Bills receiver Isaiah Hodgins signs autographs for fans after practice. Hodgins has been one of the under-the-radar stars of training camp.
Lindsey Meys/Batavia Daily News | Bills quarterback Josh Allen waves to a young fan on his way to the practice field before Sunday’s session.
PITTSFORD — Reggie Gilliam has taken the road less traveled while establishing himself as a valuable member of the Bills roster.
After a journey full of uncertainty, throughout which he garnered limited interest out of high school, walked on to play in college and signed as an undrafted free agent by the Bills before the 2020 season, the fullback/tight end hybrid now finds himself set for the foreseeable future. On Sunday, the Bills announced they agreed to terms with Gilliam on a two-year contract extension which will tie him to the team through the 2024 season. The deal is worth up to $5.2 million, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. The versatile Gilliam was set to become a restricted free agent in 2023.
“It’s huge. Obviously, it offers a lot of security, but it also offers the fact that they believe in me,” said Gilliam after practice. “I’m out to prove them right. “
During Gilliam’s meeting with the media, he discussed his long, arduous trek toward finding the stability he has been searching for since starting his playing career, which began at Westland High School near Columbus, OH. Gilliam recalled that, during his time at Westland, the football team only won a total of seven games. But despite a lack of team success, his performance managed to shine through and, after a long wait, he received an opportunity to walk on at the University of Toledo. Upon making the Rockets’ roster, Gilliam says he became the first athlete from his high school to play at the Division I level.
“About the third game into my senior year, I got a (direct message) from a recruiter at Toledo,” recalled Gilliam. “He hit me up and was like, ‘Hey, I saw your film. You had a really great game. We’d like you to come up for our walk-on day and see the campus.’
“So I come up and fell in love with the campus and was like this is what I want to do. So I walked on, was a walk-on for two years and earned a scholarship my third year.”
That wasn’t the end of Gilliam’s difficult journey. After his college playing days concluded, Gilliam encountered another obstacle.
“Coming out (of college), my pro day got canceled,” said Gilliam. “I thought that was the end of the road for me.”
Due to a lack of exposure, Gilliam didn’t receive much interest from teams throughout the draft process. That led him to Buffalo, which brought him in as a UDFA and he has since found a consistent role as the team’s Swiss Army knife, both as a supplemental player offensively and a mainstay on special teams. Last season, Gilliam was on the field for 14% of the Bills’ offensive snaps, an increase from 9% the year before. Gilliam was on the field for 77% of the team’s special teams snaps during the ’21 season, an increase from 49% the year before.
However unlikely, the 6-foot, 244-pound utility man serves a purpose for the Bills. Search no further for proof of Gilliam’s value to the team than the deal he signed on Sunday.
“I was not expecting it at all. It just kind of came out of the blue,” said Gilliam. “Everybody was super excited for me, saying I earned it and saying I’m the guy for the job.”
After inking his extension, Gilliam took to the practice field where the Bills underwent a brutally-hot practice that produced plenty of news and nuggets throughout the two-hour session. Here are a few observations from the sideline at SJF:
Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey met with the media before Sunday’s practice, and one of the hot topics of discussion was the OC’s location while he called plays during the ‘Return of the Blue and Red’ practice, which served as a pseudo-scrimmage.
“I was up top,” said Dorsey, referring to the coaching box.
The first-year play-caller says, while he spent Friday’s session calling the offense from overhead, he remains undecided about what his course of action will be once the regular season begins in September.
“Right now, I have my whole mindset of like yeah, I want to be down on the field,” said Dorsey. “But honestly, right now, I’m not 100% sure the direction that we’ll go there.
“I’ve spent my whole career down on the field, so that vision I’m kind of used to. So right now, we’re still kind of playing with it a little bit, and we’ll settle on it here at some point. Fortunately, we’re not in a rush because I want to make sure it’s wherever I’m most comfortable and wherever the team and the guys are comfortable with it.”
Dorsey discussed the differences between calling the game from the coaching box and down on the field.
“The only problem up in the box is you’re really in a confined space, and there’s guys right next to you, so every now and then, you want to elbow somebody or something like that,” he joked. “But I would say that’s the main thing, the confinedness, the tight quarters or whatever versus kind of being out in the open. So there’s definitely pros and cons. Because you can have your stuff set out how you need it up in the box, and you’ve just got to be a little more organized and condensed if you’re down on the field.”
The Bills OC also said the chain of communication differs when calling the game in the box versus the sideline.
“If you’re up in the box, you’ve got to trust your coaches down on the field. They’re relaying kind of the feel of the sideline and that communication there,” he said. “If you’re down on the field, you’ve got to really trust the box guys to kind of be your eyes and be the vision of some of the things that may be a little bit in your blind spots down on the field.”
The Bills also announced before practice began that Rodger Saffold was removed from the Non-Football Injury list, which allowed Buffalo’s projected starting guard to practice for the first time since training camp began. Saffold suited up in full uniform and helmet while participating in individual drills before being held out of full-speed 1-on-1 sessions and team drills. Saffold appeared to have a full range of motion in his upper body during positional work. The veteran offensive lineman missed the first 10 days of camp with a rib injury he suffered during an offseason car accident.
Starting center Mitch Morse was given a veteran rest day and was on the sideline throughout Sunday’s practice wearing a jersey and baseball cap. Wide receivers Isaiah McKenzie and rookie Khalil Shakir, along with cornerback Taron Johnson were all held out of practice with what ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg reported as soreness stemming from Friday’s ‘Return of the Blue and Red’ practice at Highmark Stadium.
Projected starting right tackle Spencer Brown took part in full-speed drills for the first time since training camp began, going up against the Bills’ pass rushers during one-on-ones and team drills. Reserve OL Greg Mancz also returned to the practice field after a brief absence, with his arm heavily wrapped in some sort of bandage beneath a brace. After wearing a demobilizing brace on his injured elbow during Thursday’s practice, All-Pro safety Jordan Poyer has since ditched the brace and watched Sunday’s practice from the sideline.
It didn’t take long for tempers to run high on Sunday, with yet another scuffle between Bills players breaking out on just the second play of team drills. After the play was whistled dead, linebacker Tyrel Dodson got into it with David Quessenberry, a confrontation that ended with Dodson’s helmet being removed. The skirmish didn’t last long, and the practice moved right along.
We’ve seen several minor dust-ups break out during camp, but none have been anything to be concerned about — perhaps with the exception of the first one, which involved Josh Allen and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips. After Sunday’s practice, Phillips recalled his disagreement with the Bills’ franchise quarterback.
“I don’t think it was a problem,” said Phillips. “I just think it was just, first day of pads, everybody was fired up. It’s just one of those things — competing.”
Sunday’s practice was relatively light, as Bills players were dressed in just helmets, no pads, after going rather heavy the past several sessions.
Three under-the-radar receivers managed to make their presence felt during team drills, as veteran Jamison Crowder appeared fully back from whatever was ailing him to begin camp, while Isaiah Hodgins and Jake Kumerow also recorded notable performances throughout the various sessions of 11-on-11.
Crowder missed several practices with what the team termed muscle tightness near the start of camp but has since returned and looked to be his old self. The veteran slot receiver beat cornerback Olijah Griffin for a reception during one-on-ones, and then later, during team drills, Crowder caught a pass from Allen and showed great lateral agility while darting his way down the field after the catch. Near the end of the team session, Crowder took a handoff on a wide receiver reverse and ran the ball for what appeared to be a short gain up the sideline.
Kumerow wasn’t heavily involved in the passing game but recorded a big play to open one-on-ones when he caught a perfectly thrown deep ball for a big gain after beating cornerback Jordan Miller who was in on the coverage. Shortly after, Kumerow beat Griffin on a slant and made a nice catch. Hodgins had a big team session, securing several passes thrown by different quarterbacks, including one that was put on his back shoulder by Allen. Shortly after, Allen found Hodgins over the middle for another reception.
Kumerow has made some plays since returning from his absence due to muscle tightness, while Hodgins has been one of the players on the roster bubble that has put his best foot forward as he hopes to make a push for the 53-man roster.
The Bills are back on the practice field on Monday, beginning at 9:45 a.m. The team has a scheduled day off on Tuesday.
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