Buffalo Bills training camp officially opens for the entire squad at St. John Fisher University in Rochester, NY, on July 25. That is when head coach Sean McDermott and his coaching staff will have to try and put together the best 53-man roster possible and the best starting 11 players on both sides of the ball after that for the 2023 NFL season. That means players at multiple positions will be competing for spots on the Bills roster. With that in mind, here are the three biggest Bills training camp battles to watch ahead of 2023 NFL season, including the Damien Harris vs. James Cook battle at running back.
Running Back: Damien Harris vs. James Cook
The Bills' running game (outside of Josh Allen) was poor last season. As such, the team traded away Zack Moss at the trade deadline for Nyheim Hines and let Devin Singletary walk in free agency this offseason.
Many in Bills Mafia hoped the team would make a big splash in the draft or free agency and bring in a star three-down back. However, the team went conservative at the position, signing veterans Damien Harris and Latavius Murray to one-year deals, and letting them compete with second-year back James Cook.
Murray’s days as RB1 are over at 33 (if they ever truly existed), and Hines is firmly a third-down back. That leaves Harris and Cook to battle it out at the No. 1 back.
Cook is the better pass-catcher, and the Bills throw more than they run. How much of that is by necessity, though, because the team doesn’t have a top runner? It’s hard to say. Harris had a 202-carry, 929-yard, 15-touchdown season for the Pats in 2021, but that is a major outlier in his four-year career.
If one of three backs can step up and become a three-down back, that could be huge for Josh Allen and the Bills offense in the 2023 NFL season.
Linebacker: AJ Klein vs. Terrel Bernard vs. Dorian Williams
Another free agent loss the Bills suffered this offseason was Pro Bowl linebacker Tremaine Edmunds leaving for the Chicago Bears. The Bills seemed to think they could only keep one off-ball linebacker with a big contract, and Buffalo (rightly) chose Matt Milano.
Now, with head coach Sean McDermott taking over the defensive coordinator responsibilities, the team is without its leading tackler for four of the last five seasons. So, who will be the linebacker who lines up next to Milano when the Bills play their standard 4-2-5 nickel defense?
The candidates currently on the Bills roster are 32-year-old veteran AJ Klein, 2022 third-round pick Terrel Bernard, or rookie third-round pick Dorian Williams.
They all have their strengths and their weaknesses. Klein is a solid vet who’s been in the system for three years (and with McDermott in Carolina before that), but he’s not a dynamic athlete, especially at 32. Bernard is athletic but undersized at 6-foot-1, 222 pounds. He made 22 tackles on 110 offensive snaps last season and excelled on special teams, but could just be a high-end special teamer at his size.
Finally, there is Williams who is also small (6-foot-1, 228 pounds) but is blazing fast and put up 132 tackles last season while leading Tulane with 5.0 sacks as well. Still, he’s a rookie, and having an undersized rookie MLB is a dicey proposition for a defense with championship aspirations.
Guard: Ryan Bates: vs. O'Cyrus Torrence
When you pick a guard in the second round of the draft, there’s a good chance it is so he can start on the offensive line as a rookie. O'Cyrus Torrence was widely regarded as one of (if not) the best guards coming out of Florida this year. He fell out of Round 1 because of his scheme fit, but he fits perfectly with the Bills.
Ryan Bates is a solid guard who worked his way up from an undrafted free agent out of Penn State in 2019 to become a starter who started 15 games last season for one of the best offenses in football. That said, he’s nowhere near a Pro Bowl-caliber lineman, and Torrence is one of the biggest, meanest guard prospects to come out of college in a while.
This is one of the most important Bills training camp roster battles, but it may not be the most exciting. Bates has earned the right to come into camp as a starter, but Torrence should take the job well before the actual 2023 NFL season kicks off.
Also, on a somewhat related note, keep an eye on Torrence's college teammate and 2023 undrafted free agent, offensive tackle Richard Gouraige. He is an underrated prospect and could work his way up the depth chart in camp as well.
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