Bills Central

3 areas of concern entering Bills 2024 training camp

The Buffalo Bills remain a Super Bowl favorite in 2024, but there are areas of concern for the team entering training camp.

Greg Vorse

Buffalo Bills place kicker Tyler Bass (2) missed what would have been a game tying field goal. The Bills lost to the Chiefs in the divional round 27-24.
Buffalo Bills place kicker Tyler Bass (2) missed what would have been a game tying field goal. The Bills lost to the Chiefs in the divional round 27-24. / Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and
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The Buffalo Bills are one of two franchises to win their division in each of the last four seasons, joining the Kansas City Chiefs. The same two teams are also the only franchises to win a playoff game each of the last four years. The Bills are unequivocally one of the top five teams during that span; however, they have some question marks entering the 2024 training camp period, which kicks off July 24.

Below are three that stand out as the most significant heading into this primary practice period before the season starts.

Tyler Bass

Tyler Bass
Buffalo Bills place kicker Tyler Bass (2) walks off the field after missing what would have been a game tying field goal in a 27-24 loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round. / Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and

Entering the 2023 season, you would have guessed kicker Tyler Bass was closer to All-Pro than cuttable, but his struggles in big games toward the end of the season bring his abilities into question. He missed two of his four field goal attempts in a 37-34 overtime loss at Philadelphia in Week 12, an unfortunate glimpse into what was to come for the playoffs. Bass went one for three in the Bills' 31-17 Wild Card round win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, so it didn't cost them then, but it was still an issue.

Then came the ultimate gut punch for Bills Mafia, a miss in Buffalo's three-point loss to Kansas City. The field goal wasn't a gimmie, but a 44-yarder at home in the playoffs is one you need your kicker to knock down. I mentioned his contract; the nearly $7.4 million he would leave the Bills with in dead money means he is pretty much a roster lock at this point. The Buffalo faithful just has to hope that he figures it out before December and January.

The Safety Position

Taylor Rapp
Cincinnati Bengals punter Brad Robbins (10) and Buffalo Bills safety Taylor Rapp (20) chat after the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 9 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY

This is the simple fear of the unknown. Jordan Poyer is now with the Miami Dolphins after playing over 92% of the Bills' defensive snaps in 2023. The other safety, Micah Hyde, played almost 75% of Buffalo's snaps last year. In fact, the Bills' top returning safety as far as snaps is Taylor Rapp, who played under 40% of the snaps and joined Buffalo last offseason.

After Rapp, you have to go all the way to the bottom of the snap charts to find Damar Hamlin, who logged 1.7% of safety snaps in 2023. The Bills will most likely rely on Rapp, free agent Mike Edwards, and second-round pick Cole Bishop to do the bulk of the heavy lifting at safety. It was a far cry from what fans were used to with Poyer and Hyde patrolling the secondary for so long.

Sean McDermott in big spots

Sean McDermott
Bills head coach Sean McDermott celebrates a turnover on downs by the defense after an interception put the Falcons in good field position. / Jamie Germano / USA TODAY NETWORK

Sean McDermott's defensive stats in the regular season are darn near above reproach. The Bills' defense has finished first, third, and fourth in points per game allowed during the last three seasons, and the team won the division in those years. It's what the squad has done in some important late games that has fans worried. The Bills have lost eight games where Josh Allen led a go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, per @UberHansen. What hurts the most is that many of those drives came during important games, most notably "13 Seconds." By no means is McDermott on any kind of hot seat, but if the Bills are going to finally get over the hump and reach the Super Bowl, he has some late-game decisions to clean up.

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Greg Vorse
GREG VORSE

Greg Vorse joined SI to cover the Bills in July of 2024. Greg has spent two decades covering Buffalo football, first as a sports reporter for WJET (ABC) in Erie, Pennsylvania, from 2004 to 2007, then, starting in the summer of 2007, for Time Warner/Spectrum News. He was an award-winning broadcaster during his time on television for stories on the high school, college, and professional ranks. Greg has also covered the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers during his broadcasting and journalism careers. Aside from a love of athletic competition, Greg, his wife, and their two children enjoy vacationing and changing the stereotypes of pit bull terriers.

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