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James Cook's milestone, Joshua Palmer's motivation & Cole Bishop's recovery — Recapping Day 2 of Bills minicamp

. Buffalo Bills Mandatory Minicamp, June 10, 2026 at the Kaleida Health Performance Center.
. Buffalo Bills Mandatory Minicamp, June 10, 2026 at the Kaleida Health Performance Center.

Wednesday marked Buffalo's second practice of mandatory minicamp. The Bills took advantage of the great weather and practiced outside after being inside on Tuesday due to rain. The second practice featured some interceptions by the defense and great plays by Josh Allen and the offense.

Here's everything you need to know for Wednesday's practice.

"I owed that to myself" | RB James Cook crosses off a life milestone

James Cook is a three-time Pro Bowl running back, the reigning NFL rushing leader and now a college graduate.

Cook earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Georgia earlier this spring and walked in the commencement ceremony in May.

"It meant a lot, just being at the University of Georgia for four years and not getting that degree when I declared for the draft. I owed that to myself just for being there for four years," Cook shared.

Cook worked on finishing his degree while a member of the Bills.

"It's an accomplishment that I had on my goal list, and I scratched it off. So, just keep going," he said.

Next up on his list of personal goals: "Protect the ball," Cook said. While setting a career-high in rushing yards, the running back also fumbled six times with three of them resulting in a turnover.

"I didn't feel like I did a good enough job of that," Cook said about ball security. "New season, got the whole offseason to work on it, got the summer, so come in ready to go."

So far this offseason, the Miami native had not been spotted at voluntary practices that were observable to the media. Buffalo's coaching staff wasn't concerned and Cook has been full-go during this week's mandatory minicamp.

"I've been in touch with Jimbo the whole time," head coach Joe Brady said Tuesday. "I'm always going to want guys here, but it's voluntary, right? Like, it's part of it. And Jimbo has a great work ethic, and a great approach, and it was really good to be around him yesterday, and excited for him to get out there. I know he's excited to be with the guys again."

Cook spent additional time this spring training in Florida, along with being around his family for an extended period.

"I have kids," he said. "I just wanted to be around them and allow them and just keep continuing to work to get better."

The RB also hosted a handful of community events with his brother Dalvin, including a free cookout on May 30 in Miami. The event featured games, music, food and giveaways for community members and fans to enjoy.

"It's a good feeling, just to give back to the community that you grew up in and spend time with family. That's the best time," Cook said.

James Cook (4). Buffalo Bills Mandatory Minicamp, June 10, 2026 at the Kaleida Health Performance Center.

"Feeling a lot better" | WR Josh Palmer is motivated to improve in 2026

Coming off a frustrating first year with the Bills due to an ankle injury, wide receiver Josh Palmer is feeling more optimistic about his second season in blue and red. After working off to the side during OTAs, Palmer was back as a participant during mandatory minicamp.

"I'm feeling a lot better, starting to feel a lot more like myself," Palmer told reporters after Wednesday's practice. "(I'm) close to pre-injury."

Palmer missed five games during the regular season due to the injury, in addition to the playoffs in 2025.

"Everything that I've missed time for, it's all because of that first injury," Palmer explained.

As he reflected on his first season with Buffalo, Palmer said it was tough that it didn't go the way he wanted. He registered 22 catches for 303 yards in 12 games.

"Mentally, I've been okay," Palmer said. "It was hard during the season getting hurt, of course. Not being able to pick things up, not being able to play when it counted. After the season, it was a lot of work."

Palmer isn't putting the past in the past. Instead, he's learning from it and hoping it'll make for a much better second season with the Bills.

"I wouldn't say I'm washing away year one," Palmer shared. "It still left a bad taste in my mouth, especially not being able to play with the guys down the stretch. I don't want to wash anything away. If anything, I've learned from it."

One thing the wide receiver is excited about is his new head coach Joe Brady. He believes Brady's bringing an energy to things that's helping the entire team.

"A lot has changed," Palmer said about having a new head coach. "The energy he brings to the room, he's young so he has a lot of spunk to him. I'm just excited to see how the season turns out. That's really when you see a lot of the changes."

"Just competition" | Alec Anderson details competing for the starting LG spot

After originally signing with the Bills as undrafted free agent in 2022, offensive lineman Alec Anderson is now competing for a starting ahead of the 2026 season. Anderson is in the mix for the left guard spot after the departure of offensive lineman David Edwards during free agency.

Anderson, who spent a couple years on the practice squad and earned a roster spot in 2024, isn't changing his stripes when it comes to battling for a starting spot.

"It's just competition, and I haven't been doing anything else for the past five years in competing, and so that's just what it is to me," Anderson said. "I think it's just another training camp coming in, and I just get to prove why I get to stay on the team. This year is just competing to be a starter. I don't really put too much more weight into that because I'm going to just show up to camp as Alec Anderson, and I'm going to just throw it all out there and let it be."

Anderson is a man of many talents as he knows how to play every position across the offensive line. During the 2025 season, he saw action at right tackle, left guard and as a tackle in their six-OL formations.

Now in his fifth season, Anderson is excited to focus on one position.

"It's great. It gets my creative mind to be creative at one spot," Anderson shared. "I've been having a lot of fun being able to go in, watch the tape and see something I want to correct, and then correct it the next day. (I) have all day to really kind of pursue if it's my inside hand, if it's my feet, if it's my base, my balance, or something like that, so it's really nice to be able to keep doing that."

While Anderson competes for the starting job, he's also learning the ways of new offensive line coach Pat Meyer. Anderson loves the similarities to former offensive line coach Aaron Kromer and is welcoming a new perspective.

"I think he has great technique that he's teaching us," Anderson said. "It's the exact same stuff that Kromer was teaching us. I think it's just coming with a slightly different perspective, which is always great. Joe (Brady) kind of said it perfectly at practice. If we're not going to change anything, nothing's going to change.

"I think it's good that we have Joe as our head coach. We don't change too many things, offensive wise, we're just going to change little tweaks and mentality here and there."

In four seasons with the Bills, Anderson has played in 34 games and made six starts.

Cole Bishop talks injury recovery

Bills safety Cole Bishop has been "in and out" of participation in offseason practices due to an injury, though he has been visible during team workouts and weight lifting sessions.

Despite the injury, Bishop said he expects to be ready for training camp in July and plans to stay in Buffalo rehabbing during the upcoming break.

"Yeah, I'm gonna be here until I'm good to go, and then kind of just go from there. But be rehabbing here for a little bit," he said.

Bishop enters his third NFL season as one of Buffalo's starting safeties and feels prepared to step into a bonafide role as one of the team's defensive leaders.

"Definitely a lot more confident, but more so just like comfortable," Bishop said of his mindset.

Scroll to see the best photos from Day 2 of Buffalo Bills mandatory minicamp at the Kaleida Health Performance Center.

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