Bills camp observations: James Cook ends hold-in speculation, Keon Coleman's forgettable day

New York Times

2 days ago

PITTSFORD, N.Y. — After months and months of waiting, the Buffalo Bills finally jump-started preparations for the 2025 season on Wednesday. The team went through its first official training camp practice at St. John Fisher University in what the Bills hope to be the year that finally lands them in the Super Bowl.
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But before the playoffs or even the regular season starts, that very first day of camp is a crucial initial step.
'Listen, there's nerves,' head coach Sean McDermott said ahead of Wednesday's session. 'These are pro football players, but I can tell you there's nerves. There was some anxiousness in that meeting this morning. Then when they take that field, the biggest thing they've got to know is they've got what it takes. If you don't believe that, it's never going to work.'
That anxiety in 2025 could be multiplied slightly by the presence of the 'Hard Knocks' filming crew, with the Bills being the subject of the show's annual look at training camp. The crew is large and can be easily spotted anywhere in royal blue shirts. However, it's something the Bills seem to be taking in stride to begin camp.
'We have to go out there and feel like we're still being ourselves and keep the main thing the main thing, and that's coming out, building our football team and being the best players we can be,' said franchise quarterback Josh Allen, who had HBO's microphone pack on during practice on the first day. 'You can kind of think two ways about it, but we're taking the way of, 'OK, let's just do what we do, and whatever is shown is shown.'
As the Bills took to the field, here's what stood out from the first session.
Since the Bills' playoff run screeched to a halt in the AFC Championship Game, one of the most significant talking points about the team centered around running back James Cook. He made some news early on ahead of the NFL combine, insinuating he would like $15 million per season, and with the start of the league event in late February, the Bills began their parade of reaching contract extensions with four separate players who, like Cook, still had a year to go on their rookie deals. Since that time, nothing much has changed. Cook and the team have remained in contact throughout, and the Bills have said all the right things about loving and respecting Cook, but made it clear that they would only do a deal that made sense for them.
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The Bills received the answer to one question at least on Day 1 of camp — even if it wasn't that much of a question to them inside the building. Cook not only reported to camp, but he was a full participant Wednesday. Cook took his full complement of snaps with the first team as he has in previous seasons, even without a contract extension in place and with him in the final year of his rookie deal.
It was always a little confusing regarding the rhetoric over the last month about whether Cook would participate in training camp. He had a clear choice in mid-June to attend mandatory minicamp but not participate in the practice. Instead, Cook practiced in full over those few days as if everything was normal. It really didn't come as a surprise that Cook would follow the same playbook one month later.
The more relevant story, as it pertains to Cook, came in general manager Brandon Beane's comments after the first practice. It was Beane's first news conference since the team broke after minicamp, and it provided a window into why nothing has happened on that front yet. Although he did say he was 'hopeful' that Cook would be at Bills training camp this time next year, and that left the door open to a new deal, his comments ahead of that one spoke to some of the difficulties the Bills run into with handing out as many contract extensions as they have.
'As I've said all along, I love James Cook. You know how I am. I want to draft, develop, re-sign our own,' Beane began. 'It is a business. We have to fit it in, not only cash, but cap, and sometimes, you can look at it and say, 'Well, you know, you go to this website or whatever, they could fit him in if they did this and this.' But we also have to look at '26, '27 and beyond, because you can walk yourself into one of those years where you're like, 'Oh man, there's not a lot of guys, we can take them out here. We would have to trade or cut someone that we wouldn't want to lose' … So all those things have to make sense for us to fit in him.'
The 2026 and 2027 salary cap pictures are already murky, both because of the massive new extension to Allen, the central piece of their Super Bowl hopes, as well as those new deals to Greg Rousseau, Christian Benford, Khalil Shakir and Terrel Bernard. The way those four non-Allen contracts are structured is for cap hits to be lower early, to rise considerably in the second year, and then to reach their peak in the third with a massive jump. For instance, Benford goes from $2.6 million in 2025 to $7.5 million in 2026 before a big jump to $19.4 million in 2027. As of now, the Bills are already projected to be over the cap in 2026, and with many holes to fill in 2027 due to several players being out of contract. That's exactly Beane's point, which is why rushing into a deal with a player at a non-premium position, despite liking Cook as much as they do, has to pass all cap-management logic. They have to weigh how easily they can replace his production and if his role in the offense is worth giving up flexibility to re-sign someone else, or make another move at a different position.
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One side may need to make a concession in value, which can occur over time as circumstances change. However, with Cook moving forward at camp, practicing as he usually would, and with Beane expressing as much as he did on Wednesday, it does raise slight skepticism that a long-term resolution is quickly on the horizon. Cook isn't the only key free agent in 2026 either, as starting center Connor McGovern and left guard David Edwards are also on expiring deals.
Things can quickly change if someone has a change of heart, but as camp has begun, the sides appear dug in for the time being.
As camp arrived this year, one player the front office, coaching staff and fans alike will watch closely is second-year wide receiver Keon Coleman.
As a rookie, Coleman walked into a prominent role and provided flashes early into his first season. The consistency waned with him as it does for most young players, but the positive moments left the Bills feeling optimistic that Coleman could build on what he was through the first two-plus months of the year.
On his first day back at camp, Coleman was in a prominent role again, working with Allen and the first-team offense heavily, though he failed to deliver on several opportunities. During team drills, Coleman had four separate targets result in no receptions. The first was against second-team cornerback Dane Jackson, with Jackson sticking on Coleman the whole way and not allowing a catch opportunity. Coleman later had two reps against top cornerback Christian Benford, with Benford breaking up both passes in contested opportunities. Then, near the end, Coleman had a chance to catch a pass along the sidelines against Tre'Davious White, only for White to break up the pass as well.
The common reason these reps went in the defense's favor had all to do with Coleman's lack of separation from the cornerback. The lack of separation has been a central theme since the Bills drafted him. While he does have quick feet at the breakdown point to flash as available to the quarterback, he does have the tendency to allow the defender to get back in on the route, even with the initial win. Most of this has to do with foot speed and maybe not being as fluid a mover as other receivers. Coleman winning in contested situations must become his calling card unless he can begin to separate more, and none of those opportunities during Day 1 went his way during team drills.
Now, just for a not-so-casual reminder, one practice does not make a training camp. These are non-padded practices, so when things get a bit more physical next week with the pads going on, that could definitely work in Coleman's favor. However, Coleman's ability to separate is the sticking point. It's the reason why the Bills invested in a good separator like Joshua Palmer in free agency, because the outside receiver room lacked that in 2024. Coleman must either improve in this area or become more consistent with contested catches to get closer to his ceiling as a player. His evolution during the summer and regular season remains one of the most important of 2025 for the Bills offense, and could dictate how they approach the 2026 offseason.
This time last year, linebacker Joe Andreessen was a fun, locally driven story as a Buffalo native auditioning for the team he grew up watching. As the summer went on, Andreessen took advantage of every opportunity and stole a spot on the 53-man roster. It appears his trajectory could push him even higher if he continues to improve. To begin camp, Andreessen, not Baylon Spector, was the second-team middle linebacker, pairing with backup outside linebacker Dorian Williams.
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This is a notable development, considering Spector has long been considered the backup to starter Terrel Bernard. Still, Spector has been oft-injured throughout his three years in Buffalo, creating opportunity for someone like Andreessen. Reps are often fluid in camp, and the Bills like to rotate opportunities by day, but it's a big statement for Andreessen to get that opportunity on the first day ahead of Spector. Should it continue, Spector would almost assuredly be on the bubble to make the roster outright.
The Bills began camp without starting right tackle Spencer Brown, following news he'd been placed on the active physically unable to perform list. The team revealed Brown is dealing with a back injury, calling it a 'flare-up' for one of their best offensive players. This is a notable development, given Brown's injury history, which includes a previous back injury that required surgery to repair. However, also key to this case is Brown's standing on the roster and the team feeling relatively comfortable with him missing time. He's an easily established starter and proved to be one of the best at his position in the NFL last year. Beane even commented that there is a significant difference between July 23 and being in the regular season. They have a much greater opportunity to take a cautious approach rather than forcing a player through injury, so this is likely an attempt to get the injury under control with some rest, with hopes he'll be good to go to begin the regular season. No timeline has been given for Brown's return, but it's essential to note that players can be removed from the active PUP list at any point during training camp.
Day 1 MVP: CB Christian Benford: The team's clear-cut top cornerback was simply outstanding on Wednesday. He broke up several passes and was in the hip pocket of receivers all day long. The Bills were right to invest in him with a long-term extension, as it appeared last year he was only scratching the surface of how good he could be. Still only 24, the Bills had to love what they saw from Benford, who could easily be one of their best players in the upcoming season.
Did not participate: TE Dawson Knox (hamstring, NFI list), RT Spencer Brown (back, active PUP), C Sedrick Van-Pran Granger (calf, active PUP), WR Laviska Shenault (lower leg)
(Top photo of James Cook: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images)