Bills HC gives update on safety competition as prime contender suffers injury

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott provided an update on the safety competition as Mike Edwards has been sidelined with an injury.

Kyle Silagyi | Jul 29, 2024

Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott adjusts a play during drills on the opening day of Buffalo Bills training camp. / Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and

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One of the primary takeaways from the first practices of the Buffalo Bills’ 2024 training camp has been the legitimacy of the team’s safety battle; Taylor Rapp has been penciled into one starting spot, but the club has split first-team reps alongside him amongst fourth-year player Damar Hamlin, offseason signing Mike Edwards, and rookie Cole Bishop as they attempt to fill the roles previously manned by stalwarts Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.

The competition is at least temporarily shrinking, as one of the contenders will miss the next several weeks of practice with a lower-body injury.

“Mike Edwards, the safety, has a hamstring and he’ll be week-to-week,” head coach Sean McDermott said ahead of Monday’s training camp practice.

It’s a significant blow for Edwards, who has had difficulty staying healthy since inking a one-year deal with Buffalo in March. The former Kansas City Chiefs defender missed the vast majority of the team’s spring workouts with a right shoulder injury, and though that ailment fully healed ahead of the start of camp, his recently acquired hamstring injury is another setback as he attempts to adjust to the scheme and make his mark on the defense.

“It is [disappointing],” McDermott said. “It’s a part of the game, on one hand. The other part is, in order to get the scheme down the way you need to get it down, you need to be out there. But Mike’s a pro, he’s been around it before, so I’m sure he’ll do his best to stay up as best he can on the mental end of things here and the scheme.”

Reps will now be split amongst Hamlin and Bishop, who have both made plays when given reps with the first team throughout camp. Hamlin may be perceived as having the slight edge given his familiarity with and experience in Buffalo’s defensive scheme; McDermott praised the 26-year-old during his Monday presser.

“It’s to be expected, but an increased focus from a year ago, increased urgency, and really just getting back to what he was,” McDermott said. “It’s to be expected, again, with respect to the situation he went through. It’s fun watching him have fun out there, and I think he’s been able to do that. You can tell he means business.”

Jul 24, 2024; Rochester, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (3) and wide receiver Keon Coleman (0) sign autographs for fans after a training camp session at St. John Fisher University. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports / Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Though he played on just 31 defensive snaps throughout the 2023 campaign, Hamlin does have starting experience in the Bills’ defensive backfield, starting 13 games for the team in 2022 in place of the injured Hyde. He was impactful throughout his time in the starting lineup, notching 91 total tackles and two pass deflections.

Bishop, whom Buffalo selected in the second round of the 2024 draft, figures to see increased first-team reps in Edwards’ absence, an opportunity for him to exceed expectations typically attributed to a late-second-round rookie. McDermott has already seen improvement from the 21-year-old, noting that he’s showcased a great understanding of the scheme.

“I think one of the bigger things I’ve seen, and one of the bigger things you hope for, is growth over the course of the break, meaning it’s been clear that he put time in on the mental end of things with the scheme and mastering the scheme,” McDermott said. “He still has a lot of work to do, but he’s improving in that area, he’s improving with his understanding of how necessary it is at that position to communicate and get everybody lined up and on the same page.”

Buffalo’s safety battle will be one of the more fascinating stories to track throughout the rest of camp. We’ll have a solid idea of who has a leg up in the competition when the team commences its preseason slate on August 10.

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