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What we learned about the Bills on Day 19 of Training Camp 2026

Aug 24, 2026 at 04:57 PM

Seasonal Writing Associate

The Bills practiced Monday as they get ready for their final preseason game before the 2026 regular season. Here's what we learned:

Buffalo Bills Week 5 Practice, August 24, 2026 at Buffalo Bills Training Center.

Skyler Bell returns to the field

After missing the last few weeks, including both preseason games due to injury, wide receiver Skyler Bell made his return to practice Monday. The rookie fourth-round pick had a strong start to training camp and is now finally getting to continue preparing for his first NFL season.

Getting back out onto the practice field was huge for Bell, forced to stay in street clothes for the longest duration of his career to this point.

"I felt like a kid in a candy store," Bell said. "I've been out for a little minute. I haven't actually missed this much time ever in football, so it was just so good to be back out there with the guys."

During that time, Bell found ways to stay involved despite not practicing. He focused on controlling what he could control, and doing all he could off the field to keep making progress with his rehabilitation.

"It was tough, but I just tried to stay locked in and stay engaged. When the ones are going and maybe they're not going, I'm just asking questions. Just trying to get mental reps. Just trying to stay locked in as much as I can, because when we go down in a few weeks to Houston, it's real," Bell said.

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Preparing himself for the start of the regular season has been Bell's priority, not wanting to rush back too early despite the itch to get back out there.

"It was a lot of just trying to stay mentally locked in because it's tough, watching everybody practice when you want to be out there," Bell said. "But I was just staying with the trainers, taking it day by day, and they told me, 'We're going to get you right. Just stay with it, stay with the process.'"

Bell's availability for Thursday's preseason game at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers is still up in the air, but if he gets the green light, the rookie won't waste the opportunity.

"I'm excited, man," Bell said. "I felt good [on Monday]. Hopefully, if the trainers let me let me roll, I'll be ready to go."

Players and coaches prepare for roster decisions after the final preseason game

With the roster shrinking down to 53 players on Sunday, the final preseason game of the season comes with major implications. It will be the final chance for a number of players to do what they can to earn a spot on the initial active roster and practice squad.

The Bills coaching staff will have their hands full trying to decide which players to keep for the regular season. None understand what the players are going through more than former undrafted free agent and 10-year NFL veteran Jim Leonhard, who will take part on that decision-making process through the lens of a coach as Buffalo's defensive coordinator.

"It's the hardest week in the NFL, right here," Leonhard said. "I've been on both sides. I've made rosters. I've been cut from rosters. Everyone understands what happens at the end of this week, where there's a lot of players in the building there's not enough spots for."

Having coaches and long-tenured players in the building who have been through roster decision days in the past helps the young players know what to expect come Sunday. As another former undrafted free agent, Bills outside linebacker Michael Hoecht knows what it takes to set yourself apart, now passing on that wisdom to his teammates.

"If you do want a job in the NFL, no outside pressure or outside narratives or any sort of things that aren't related to football can affect how you play," Hoecht said. "You just have to go out, be yourself, make the plays that come to you."

One of the players battling for a spot in that outside linebacker room is Andre Jones Jr., four years into his NFL career at this point. The 27-year-old knows there's a lot of talent in the building, focusing on just being himself as the end of the preseason looms.

"I'm telling myself, go out there and play, just play, have fun," Jones Jr. said. "Make that little kid that played on Saturdays proud… I'm gonna be proud of myself. I'm gonna leave it all out there."

Buffalo Bills Training Camp, August 10, 2026 at the Kaleida Health Performance Center.

Brought in as an undrafted rookie this season, cornerback Jordan Dunbar is doing all he can to earn a role on the team and stick around for the season.

"Take advantage of your reps," Dunbar said. "As a UDFA, you may not get a bunch of them, but when you get them, it's like win, lose, or draw, just compete, because that's really what the coaches want to see."

"One thing I feel like I've learned is, there's not a single day that's guaranteed in our position," Dunbar added. "Minicamp is a competition, OTAs is a competition. The summer workouts are a competition. And then training camp is the ultimate competition. So I feel like I carry a lot of pride just even making it to this point alone."

Jim Leonhard reflects on his first training camp in Buffalo

Hired by the Bills at the end of January, defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard has now been in the building for nearly seven months. With the preseason coming to a close on Thursday, the 43-year-old is hoping his defense puts together another impressive week coming off back to back victories where they allowed under 15 points.

Getting the opportunity to see his new-look, 3-4 scheme in action against different opponents has helped to build confidence in what the team will be capable of come the regular season.

"You go through camp and you see the same offense and they learn," Leonhard said. "They get better at seeing it. You kind of get to see another day one, where it's a different offense and you see their natural reactions to certain guys, kind of how they see certain blocks or just the communication on the field, so that's really valuable for me. Truly testing where they're at when they get a little more uncomfortable."

One of the most intriguing areas of the defense to this point in the preseason has been the defensive backs, dealing with injuries throughout camp, and the depth in the room being very young.

There have been positives and negatives from the young DBs getting more playing time throughout practices and the two preseason games, with Leonhard working through it all to set his team up for success.

"It's more about how they gel and how they communicate, continuing to build up reps from now until Houston," Leonhard said. "It's always concerning when you're not banking those reps with who you'd probably consider to be the starting group out there. It is what it is."

"I like the mentality of the group, the energy in that group," Leonhard said. "It's fun coaching a young group sometimes because they are constantly striving for more. They want more information."

Still learning about his players strengths and weaknesses, getting controlled reps in last week's open practice against the Cleveland Browns also was huge for Leonhard. He didn't expect his team to be perfect at this point by any means, but seeing how they've handled the ups-and-downs has been a promising development.

"Our guys went out there, they wanted to be physical," Leonhard added. "They were up to that challenge. It was a big week, having a big practice in our stadium, having the joint practice and the game. A ton of film to evaluate from last week. That was big for us as a staff."