The Buffalo Bills held their first full-pads practice of the 2025 training camp as they reached the midpoint of their stay in Rochester. Eleven players missed Monday’s session due to injury, but the focus remained on team development and physicality.
Head coach Sean McDermott addressed the team before practice, emphasizing the importance of tough play while maintaining respect among teammates. “I want to see nasty, physical football, but I don’t want to see disrespect for a man’s career and dirty football,” McDermott said. “That’s not how we play in Buffalo. So, we painted a pretty clear picture this morning of what that looks like for the new players in particular. So that nastiness has to be developed here, but it can’t be at the expense of someone’s career. So clean, but physical.”
McDermott also referenced an incident from Friday’s practice involving offensive lineman Alec Anderson, who was sent off after punching a teammate. “Fights are going to happen. When you cheap shot someone, I have no respect for that. I thought that was a cheap shot, so I sent him to the locker room. And I communicated clearly to him from a following up standpoint of why I did that. I believe in Alec, I love him. He’s one of our tone setters, which I love. But there is a line there, especially against your own teammates,” McDermott said.
Temperatures were high as players worked on building a more physical identity during practice. Defensive end Greg Rousseau commented on this approach: “You can really discourage other teams by the way you play, the way you run the ball, the way you stop the run. It helps you win week in and week out,” he said.
The defense had several standout moments during drills focused on run stopping and tackling. Defensive tackle DeWayne Carter recorded a tackle for loss early in practice; defensive ends Michael Hoecht and Hayden Harris also made key stops at the line of scrimmage. Offensive linemen Ryan Van Demark and O’Cyrus Torrence contributed strong blocks during these periods.
With linebackers Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams sidelined by injuries, Baylon Spector, Joe Andreessen and Shaq Thompson saw increased playing time alongside Matt Milano. Milano made notable plays throughout 11-on-11 drills; his performance drew praise from cornerback Taron Johnson: “Matt is who he is, it’s not a surprise to me. It’s something I’ve seen for nine years. So just him being that same guy that he’s always been is helpful for us,” Johnson said.
Rousseau nearly intercepted a screen pass intended for Keon Coleman and continued to make stops on running plays throughout practice—a sign of his ongoing development after tying his career-high in sacks last season.
“I feel like every year you gotta take a step,” Rousseau said. “For me, it’s every part of my game. It’s the run game, it’s pass rushing, it’s me being just locked into my assignment, my pad level, my hand placement.”
Quarterback Josh Allen connected with wide receivers Keon Coleman and Joshua Palmer for gains of 20 yards each during play-action sequences; Allen also distributed screens and swing passes to running backs throughout team drills.
Other highlights included cornerback Maxwell Hairston breaking up a pass against Khalil Shakir and quarterback Mike White finding Stephen Gosnell for a 40-yard catch-and-run—the longest offensive play of Day 5.
Cornerback Christian Benford stood out during one-on-one matchups with receivers as he continued his strong training camp showing.
Taron Johnson enters his eighth season with Buffalo as its longest-tenured active defensive player following significant roster changes over recent years.
“It’s just really a blessing,” Johnson said of being in the league for eight years. Being with the Bills for so long, I couldn’t… before I was in the NFL. I couldn’t see it any other way. It’s been a crazy blessing, and I just want to take full advantage of it.”
Johnson spoke about using training camp to experiment with techniques: “I try to do different techniques here and there, just because it’s not Sunday. And this is the time where you want to get better and try things, and I feel like that I can bring into the game and get confident from doing it in practice, and then bring it to the game,” he said.
He added: “I feel like putting myself in uncomfortable positions is huge for me, maybe things that I might not see that often in the game, or just things where I might not like where I’m at and I feel like that’ll put me in the best positions when I’m in the game to make those plays. My main thing is getting the ball so however I can force turnovers, that’s the goal.”
Johnson noted competition among defensive backs this year as several players vie for roles: “It’s gonna sharpen the corners, the nickels, the safeties… and it’s going to push guys to their full potential,” he said.
