Buffalo Bills Sean McDermott during a press conference
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00:00It's still good morning at this point.
00:02I'll give you the update on who's practicing,
00:10or really, who's not practicing.
00:11So we've got these players will not practice,
00:15Dorian Williams, Eddie, we'll look for Sho,
00:20how about just Eddie, Nick Merrow, Baylen Specter.
00:27Those are linebackers that will not practice,
00:30running backs that will not practice, Ray Davis, Ty Johnson,
00:34Reggie Gilliam, and then the following
00:36will be limited, Mike Edwards, Spencer Brown, and Matt Milano.
00:41And then Christian Benford is excused
00:45to handle the family matter.
00:47So with that, I'll turn it over to you for your questions.
00:50That seems like a pretty lengthy list for a mandatory minicamp.
00:53Is it injury related, rest related?
00:54What's the, I mean, especially the first groups
00:57Yeah, no, unfortunately, injury related.
00:59We've kind of got hit with the injury bug here.
01:01And that affects availability, which
01:06affects some of the development, building trust,
01:09especially if you're a new player.
01:11And so we're just dealing with it.
01:14We've had to cut back on some of the third group reps
01:16over the last week or so.
01:18And we may have to do the same today.
01:20We'll see.
01:21We'll see how it goes.
01:21Sean, what about the significance of Matt Milano
01:24being back on the field and practicing,
01:26back on the field, whatever he can
01:28do with the significance of that?
01:29Yeah, it's big.
01:31Credit to Matt and what he's been
01:32able to do with our training staff and the work he's put in.
01:36He's so focused.
01:38He was focused before this.
01:40I feel like he's even more focused,
01:43if that's even possible now, in wanting
01:45to get back out there for himself,
01:47but also for his teammates.
01:49What about the timetable on Matt?
01:50Do you expect him to be, to ease him in when
01:53he gets to training camp, when he gets the pads and things
01:56of that nature, as you've done with other players?
01:58Right.
01:59So right now, at least, the vision from Nate is just that.
02:04He'll do some individual today, see how it goes one day
02:07at a time.
02:08And then hopefully, tomorrow, if overnight things stay managed
02:15and then we'll continue to build,
02:17he'll continue to build through the break
02:19that we're going to go on.
02:20And then hopefully, in training camp,
02:22he's at a spot where, when we open up, he's available.
02:28It's just a matter of putting it one day at a time
02:33and trying to put practices back to back.
02:36Don't know yet on that, John, and we'll just have to see.
02:38Sean, is everyone here?
02:40Everyone is here, except for Christian.
02:43That's an excused ask.
02:43Correct.
02:44What can you say, in the brief time
02:46you've had him, of Claypool, what he looks like?
02:49Obviously, he's had some struggles
02:51the last couple of years.
02:52What have you seen early on here?
02:54Yeah, a good addition.
02:57He's a veteran player that's started before
03:01and has experience in games and also on special teams.
03:06So I think he's come in and done all that we
03:10could have asked at this point.
03:11He's been a good teammate, worked hard, been focused,
03:14made plays out there.
03:15And I think that'll continue as we move forward,
03:18and the evaluation overall will continue.
03:20But we're happy to have him.
03:22Hey, Sean, a lot of new coaches, a lot of new players.
03:25What have you liked about the synergy
03:28of the last couple of months?
03:29Yeah, I've loved it.
03:30Everyone's focused, it seems.
03:33Although it is spring, and guys have things going on,
03:36sometimes outside of football this time of year.
03:38So we respect that.
03:40But when they've been here, they've been focused and working
03:43well together and really more of an unselfish approach,
03:47I would say.
03:47And that's been good to see.
03:50To Ryan's point, you've got a lot of new guys
03:52on the defensive staff, either through the team
03:54or through their job.
03:55How much more coaching of the coaches
03:56are you doing this time of year?
03:57And how does it change, maybe, your approach
03:59to this region of the season?
04:02Well, I think you're always coaching your coaches.
04:04I think that's really where it starts, right,
04:05in terms of trying to get everybody
04:07on the same page, on the same sheet of music.
04:10So that when they go and teach or they go and install
04:13a scheme or a play, it's how the coordinators want it.
04:18And then for me, to the coordinators,
04:21we're on the same page from a leadership group,
04:23if you will, of how we want to, say, even schedule practice
04:29today or tomorrow.
04:31And then as we look ahead to training camp,
04:33what we want that to look like, and so on and so forth.
04:36With all the turnover this offseason,
04:39do you find, not that you abandon this entirely,
04:42do you find yourself going back to 2018 and 2019 and even 2020
04:46and having players introduce themselves and speak up
04:49in front of the team more and leaning on that method
04:53because it worked in the past?
04:56Yeah, I mean, I think, John, we always do that.
04:58It's just a matter of how much is necessary.
05:01I think it's always necessary to what extent is probably
05:04year-to-year, to your point.
05:06But just overall, this time of year,
05:08it gets tougher to do some of that in training camp
05:11because of the pace, I would say.
05:14So right now, if we're going to do it,
05:16we're going to major in it right now,
05:18and that's one of the things we have been doing.
05:20John, can you talk about how McGovern and Josh
05:23are getting on there?
05:24I mean, this is Josh's first through center for quite a
05:27while, and obviously, Connor hasn't done that really much
05:30in the NFL.
05:31I know it's tough to evaluate line play,
05:33but can you maybe give us some thought on how that's gone,
05:36do you think?
05:37It is shorts and t-shirts and helmets,
05:39so it's not really football yet.
05:41So having said that, though, it's
05:44been interesting to watch that relationship between Josh
05:51and Connor, then also Connor at the leadership position
05:55of our offensive line.
05:57He's the one that sets the table to call the huddle to really
06:00start the next play.
06:02I think he's done a nice job, Connor has to this point.
06:06He's got very good energy on a daily basis, which
06:09is important for us.
06:10And seems very aligned with Coach Cromer
06:14and what they want to get done up front.
06:16Sean, understanding the shorts and t-shirts element of it,
06:19but what sort of growth development
06:21have you seen from Josh with his new wide receivers
06:24and weapons in the offense from OT as we hit this week?
06:28Just taking it one day at a time, really.
06:31Because of the new faces, then you
06:34have your other group of veterans
06:36who have been here and kind of know a little bit of what
06:38we do, but more so how we do it.
06:41And that onboarding process has been fun to watch with,
06:46whether it's Keyon or a veteran new player to us.
06:51I just think it's gone well.
06:54The work that they've been doing on their own,
06:57the time on task of the detail of the routes,
07:00Josh has done a great job of pulling some of those guys
07:03aside when time allows to get some extra work there.
07:06Sean, from your perspective, what
07:08went into the decision to sign Gable Stevenson, someone
07:10who doesn't have football experience?
07:12Obviously, you know a lot about the wrestling background
07:14and that kind of thing.
07:15So what went into that?
07:17I think a couple of things, one of which
07:19is I'm a big believer in wrestlers
07:25and what skills you develop in wrestling
07:28and how it can transfer to being a really good football player,
07:32especially among the offensive line, defensive line position
07:36groups.
07:38Having not played football ever, not even in high school,
07:42that's a little bit different.
07:43That's a little bit unique.
07:45And so there's more work to be done
07:48in terms of starting from scratch, from zero,
07:52and then trying to build each day.
07:54And he's worked extremely hard with our defensive line coaches
07:57and Coach Babich as well.
07:59And so it's about just daily improvement.
08:01And again, this is new.
08:04I tried to equate it to some of the coaches who
08:07have not wrestled.
08:08I said, it's like trying to put on and wrestling
08:10the ankle band when you just go to the scorer's table
08:12and you're not even wrestling yet.
08:14They haven't even blown the whistle.
08:15So it's a new world a little bit for him.
08:18What should he show you, despite not having
08:21any football experience, that it was worth having someone?
08:24Do you have to teach the basics and start from scratch?
08:28I think more than anything, the quickness, the burst,
08:32the power, all that you can tell in a small workout,
08:38those are the things that you try
08:39and identify from a defensive line standpoint in this case.
08:43And we were going through it.
08:46And some of it was making sense during the workout,
08:50and some wasn't.
08:50So I just tried to put things in wrestling terms a little bit
08:54of some of the overlapping movements, if you will.
08:58And so maybe that helped a little bit.
08:59Maybe it didn't.
09:00But again, he's been working hard.
09:02Coach, what has to happen this week for you
09:05to leave the off-season training portion, this portion of OTAs,
09:08mandatory minicamp, and even back into April,
09:11for you to feel, I feel good about what
09:14happened during the last few months
09:16here as we approach training camp in six weeks?
09:19Yeah, I think let's just start with the health of our football
09:23team.
09:24It was mentioned that we have some injuries,
09:26and some of those are going to happen.
09:28I think the biggest thing is, can we get ourselves
09:31through the break?
09:34Can we get ourselves through the next couple of days, number one,
09:38and then into the break period?
09:39And those guys can spend time with our trainers
09:42and our training staff and get to training camp
09:44where they're available.
09:45I think that's important.
09:46Staying healthy over the break for the guys that
09:48are healthy right now is also important.
09:52And so I think you start there, and then you
09:54get into making sure that schematically, this
09:58is a time of year for us, at least,
10:00where we try and develop our menu a little bit,
10:03try things, throw some things out, add some things.
10:08It's really the time of year to try some of that.
10:10And then my ask of the coordinators
10:12is that when we break, or before we break,
10:15that they've got a pretty good menu built
10:18that they believe in and matches what we know at this point,
10:23at least, to be the strengths of our players.
10:26And then we get to training camp,
10:28and we rep, rep, and rep so that we're efficient, effective
10:32with what we're trying to do.
10:33Sean, you've lost Leonard Floyd.
10:35And obviously, Vaughn is on the back end of his career.
10:37Do you need Greg Rousseau specifically?
10:39I know other guys, but Greg Rousseau,
10:42do you need him specifically to step up this year
10:45and take the lead as your most dominant pass rusher, maybe?
10:49Oh, yeah.
10:50I mean, when you talk about Greg and AJ, both.
10:54They've put good things out there.
10:56They've flashed really high-level moments.
11:00Now it's about being full-time starters
11:04and taking that next step to continue to take
11:08their game to another level.
11:09And they're aware of that.
11:10And both of those guys work extremely hard.
11:12And that's the opportunity that's really, quite frankly,
11:16in front of both of them.
11:17When did you notice Taylor Rapp take
11:19charge of the safety room?
11:20Last week in particular, it's really stood out.
11:23Last year when T-Rapp got here, new system,
11:28different environment in the room.
11:30And he did a great job of understanding his role
11:33and excelling at his role.
11:35And now, new role this year.
11:37And I hate to say role because roles aren't really defined
11:40until everyone makes a team.
11:41But at this point, Taylor's really stepped into that role.
11:46And I would say asserted himself from a leadership
11:51standpoint a little bit and a communicator
11:54standpoint, which is huge in that back end
11:56where next to him, who's it going to be, right?
11:59So Mike Edwards is brought in.
12:00Mike's on the injury report as well
12:03and hasn't been really practicing.
12:05And then the other pieces that are competing back there.
12:08So it's interesting to see, but necessary
12:11from a communication standpoint.
12:13Staying in that safety room with Damar Hamlin,
12:15he really came on during OTAs, made a couple plays.
12:18Pads aren't on, but what have you
12:20seen from him that's allowed him to stand out
12:22the last few weeks?
12:23Yeah, I think you're spot on.
12:24I think the last couple of weeks he's
12:26been playing more consistent, playing at a high level,
12:30very, very focused, and getting himself
12:35into a really good spot.
12:36I think with not only knowing the defense,
12:38but just getting back to playing detail-oriented and fast.
12:44You've referenced the break coming up.
12:45There's been a lot of talk about the possibility of changing
12:48the way the offseason goes.
12:50Is it needed?
12:52What's your opinion on the way the current setup is?
12:55And is this break, like for you and the coaches
12:58and everybody, sort of needed to ramp up
13:00when you get to training camp?
13:02Well, I like the current structure.
13:04Maybe I'm a creature of habit, 20 plus years around it.
13:08But I would say, I think you're always
13:10open to change if change works for everyone.
13:14So I trust the people that are going to make those decisions
13:16more than anything.
13:17And I think it'd be hard, at least from where I stand,
13:21and I haven't given it much time in all honesty, Mike,
13:23it's just it'd be hard to probably please everyone
13:26if you're going to move things around.
13:28Those breaks, that time, that rest
13:30is important for the coaches, I can tell you,
13:35to get re-energized heading into training camp
13:37because you're going.
13:38And there's very suddenly a day off for six plus months.
13:43Good?
13:44All right, thank you.