10 Buffalo Bills With a Lot at Stake in 2024 Training Camp

I’ll address one omission – I left out rookie Keon Coleman because while I think he has a lot to prove, I think it’s too early to say he’s among those with the most to lose. Feel free to disagree in the comments. The Bills still have a lot to work on at receiver, but I think Coleman has some wiggle room on his timetable. The others? Not so much.

In no particular order, here are my top 10 Bills — both players and a few coaches — with the most at stake this season.

This is a make-or-break season for Elam, the Bills’ 2022 first-round pick. Elam has missed time in each of his first two seasons, whether due to injuries or production. A nagging ankle injury hampered him last year, with the cornerback also speaking about the mental effects of missing time. Now healthy, it’s time for him to prove his draft status.

Hamlin impressed in OTAs and minicamp. The safety was inactive for most of last season, playing in just five games for the Bills. The starting safety duo consisted of Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde, who are no longer with the Bills. Hamlin was the odd man out in the lineup, but he was left out. Now is his chance to get back into the lineup, as the Bills have seen so much change at safety.

Miller is a future Hall of Famer, but he didn’t feel that way when he returned from a knee injury last season. This season, it’s up to him to prove why the Bills signed him in 2022. Miller and the coaching staff are confident that the end of last season proves he’ll be ready for this year, and Bills fans hope they’re right. The defensive line needs the edge rusher to play at a higher level, and if he doesn’t, the stakes are high.

The defensive end tested free agency and ended up returning to the Bills on a two-year deal. Now it’s his turn to prove why the Bills drafted him in the second round in 2020. He’s recorded 6.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons. Epenesa also missed two games last season with a rib injury but was back for the final stretch. The team needs the defensive line to improve, and Epenesa is a candidate to do just that.

Bills Position Preview: Defensive line looks to reorganize

The veteran receiver is hoping to start a new chapter of success with the Bills. According to coach Sean McDermott, who said at the start of OTAs: “He’s very focused, he works extremely hard day in and day out. He embraces not only the receiver role that he could play for us, but the special teams role that he could play for us. You don’t find very often in the NFL a player who has reached a certain level and is now on a mission to get back to where he once was in that regard. And those are my words, maybe not fair to Chase, respectfully.” What McDermott is saying is that Claypool has humbled himself and the receiver is now looking to hang on in Buffalo.

The oft-injured linebacker is facing a battle to hold down a roster spot. Spector has played 15 games in his two seasons in the league, but most of those games have come on special teams. The Bills value special teams, to be sure, but Spector needs to carve out a bigger role to remain competitive.

The running back carried the ball 30 times for 132 yards and played in 10 games for the Bills last season. With a high turnover at running back, Johnson could have an opportunity to play more this year. He should seize that opportunity if it presents itself.

This is my surprise pick. The kicker signed a four-year contract extension with the Bills in April 2023, and the team proclaimed its confidence in Bass even after his missed kick in the playoffs as the Bills lost to Kansas City. But the new kickoff rules are intriguing, and Bass will have to prove he can keep up. Training camp will be his time to master the rules and strategies.

Is the head coach on the hot seat? Not quite, but McDermott needs to prove he can take his team to the Super Bowl. The Bills have not achieved that goal — much less their bigger goal of winning it all — every year under McDermott. While the Bills have had plenty of success under McDermott, they are in danger of stagnating.

McDermott is now on the NFL’s competition committee. He and the team are confident that the extra work won’t impact his ability to coach, but I wonder if there’s added internal pressure to get things like the new kickoff right for the Bills.

Now that Brady is officially the offensive coordinator, the pressure is on to keep the team on track. The offense was solid under Brady, but as Ken Dorsey’s season and a half as offensive coordinator has shown, the Bills hold their offense to the highest standards. Brady needs to excel, and he has the tools — especially the quarterback — to do so. Now it’s a matter of making sure that translates into games.