PITTSFORD, N.Y. (WIVB) — Full pads have not come on yet at Buffalo Bills training camp. Still the injured list is growing after four practices at St. John Fisher University. Those ins and outs are included in these WIVB News 4 takeaways from practice and media availabilities Sunday.
What looked to be the most serious injury of camp so far occurred on rainy field late in Sunday's session when wide receiver Tyrell Shavers got carted off the field holding his right ankle after getting caught up with rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston on a 2-point conversion pass.
A two-year practice squad player who stood out at last year's training camp and was later called up for two regular season games, the 6-foot-4 Shavers was getting extra work with the first-team offense due to Curtis Samuel being sidelined by a hamstring injury, and Elijah Moore dealing with leg soreness.
Hamstring trouble also kept starting middle linebacker Terrel Bernard out of practice. Reserve LB Dorian Williams remained out of action but no longer wore a protective boot on his foot. Defensive end AJ Epenesa returned after missing one practice. Right tackle Spencer Brown (back), tight end Dawson Knox (hamstring), kick returner Laviska Shenault (leg) and offensive lineman Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (calf) have not practiced yet.
Coleman continued to look like a rookie at times early in camp, failing to separate from cornerbacks in 1-on-1 drills and occasionally dropping passes. But he has more often looked like the top-flight talent the Bills hoped to have mined from the 2024 draft.
That was the case Sunday when Coleman made several contested catches, including front pylon fade against Ja'Marcus Ingram and a jump ball at the sideline against tough coverage from rookie corner Dorian Strong, who later forced a fumble on tight end Zach Davidson.
Leading receiver Khalil Shakir said Coleman "has taken that next big step, for sure," in his second training camp.
"He's willing to learn," Shakir said. "He's willing to grow. He's willing to come in here and work and grind. Anytime he has any questions, he's not afraid to ask. And that's different for a younger guy. Usually it's harder for them speak what's on their mind and say what's on their chest. And he does. That's good. We want that. Because we don't want you to be thinking anything and holding that in when everyone else has all this information for you to get better.
Tyler Bass made half of his eight field goal attempts in the rain, with all of his misses from beyond 40 yards, including a 50-yarder he hooked well left.
New special teams coordinator Chris Tabor gave his evaluation of Buffalo's placekicker prior to Sunday's practice:
"He’s been a good kicker in this league." Tabor said. "I’ve seen him play a lot of games. I’ve faced him when I was on other teams. But we’re in the business of obviously getting better. And kicker’s funny. You can go three for four, and if you miss the game winner, you had a bad day. If you go three for four and you hit the game winner, that was a great day. You know what I mean?
"So I think what we’re trying to do right now is just get him game ready," Tabor continued. "And we don’t play for a while. We don’t need him to peak right now. We’re working towards that. Really excited for him because he has a big leg, and he scores a lot of points. To be able to kick in Buffalo, that’s not an easy assignment and he’s done really well, and hopefully we can continue to that."
Ingram made the play of the day with a one-handed interception in the end zone on a long pass from Mike White to tight end Zach Davidson. The veteran DB also broke up a 2-point pass to Coleman.
In his fourth year out of UB, Ingram has carved out a valuable role in the Bills secondary, but his roster spot never seems secure at this time of year. That remains the case with Tre'Davious White and Dane Jackson rejoining the secondary, along with draft picks Hairston and Strong.
There also was a nice INT by Baylon Spector, who replaced Bernard at middle linebacker, jumping over Joe Andreessen on the depth chart. Further jumbling the ranks, Shaq Thompson filled in for Bernard toward the end of Friday's practice.
Fans serenaded general manager Brandon Beane on his 49th birthday.
Also celebrating his 29th birthday was DB Taron Johnson, who was given a veteran rest day but still participated in individual drills without a helmet.
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.