4 takeaways from Bills minicamp: Hairston hurt, Kincaid, Andreessen impress
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) — An eventful offseason highlighted by celebrated nuptials, feature film productions, monumental stadium construction and roster renovations has reached the point where Buffalo Bills players and coaches take an extended break from the football field before coming back together for training camp in late July.
Here are some takeaways from this week's mandatory minicamp that concluded the offseason training program.
Bumps & bruises
Rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston did not participate in Thursday's practice after tweaking his hamstring late in the previous day's session. The injury should not linger into training camp, general manager Brandon Beane said.
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'He's getting treatment, so should be good to go,' Beane said. 'He'll rehab it and be ready to go for camp.'
Hairston spent most of the practice inside the fieldhouse with trainers before walking out the sideline with a compression wrap on his left leg.
Pass rusher Joey Bosa continued rehabilitating the calf muscle injury that kept him out of spring practices.
'Joey had done very well,' Beane said. 'Joey was doing a bunch of his own kind of drill work, as far as get off drills, things that a pass rusher would do. So, do you want him to have a setback? Do you want any of these guys? Do you want Max to tweak something yesterday? No, but it's football. It's going to happen. When we get to Rochester it's going to happen. That's why we have a 90-man roster, to make sure the next man up is ready.'
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Defensive tackle Daquan Jones was excused from the final day of minicamp for a personal reason. Center Connor McGovern, safeties Cole Bishop and Damar Hamlin, defensive back Cam Lewis, offensive lineman Alec Anderson, running back Ty Johnson, wide receivers Laviska Shenault and KJ Hamler, linebacker Baylon Spector and recently-signed Shaq Thompson were held out of practices or limited at points during minicamp, but Beane said all should be ready for training camp.
Now is your chance to be the next Billy Buffalo
Dalton Kincaid coming on strong
Buffalo's Super Bowl hopes ended last season with tight end Dalton Kincaid failing to haul in a fourth down heave from Josh Allen in Kansas City. Battling injuries to both knees, the 2023 first-round pick struggled to make the type of impact expected from his draft status.
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This spring, a healthier Kincaid looked more like the dynamic playmaker the Bills believed they selected. He made a one-handed catch at the start of OTAs, and closed out the minicamp catching touchdowns from Allen in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.
'He has been here, he has worked his tail off, and he is one competitive dude,' said Beane, praising Kincaid's work in the weight room to make his body more resilient to injury. 'He's definitely in a stronger position than he was probably at this time a year ago. So yeah, excited for Dalton. You can see the confidence in the knee and the body out there as we went along.
More than a cup of Joe
'Buffalo' Joe Andreessen was a fun story last spring. A wide-eyed Western New Yorker practicing with his hometown team, hopeful to earn a place on the practice squad after catching the Bills eye at a rookie camp tryout.
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Buried on the depth chart at the start of training camp, Andreessen ended up making the initial 53-man roster after injuries to veteran players gave him the opportunity to showcase his skills later in the preseason.
The former Lancaster High School and University at Buffalo alumnus now appears to be entrenched as Buffalo's backup middle linebacker and a core special teamer. He made several plays during minicamp, including an interception of Allen in the first practice.
'The ball is where you make money in this league,' Andreessen said. 'So taking the ball away is a big key in our room, any way whether it's fumbles or punching the ball out or making plays on the ball in the air. So that's a big emphasis, so kind of keeping it at the front of your mind.'
Cook's contract status
Beane was pleased to see James Cook report to minicamp after the Pro Bowl running back stayed away from voluntary conditioning workouts and OTA practices. Still seeking a contract extension, Cook is not believed to be threatening a training camp holdout, the GM said.
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'Our interactions with Jimbo have been good the whole time throughout,' Beane shared. 'I know he wasn't here, so everyone just draws their own conclusions when you're talking about it's voluntary. … Jimbo, he's a pro, he's a competitive dude. He loves to win. Of course, he wants to take care of himself. Everyone does, and we love to see that. … It's good to see him. He looks good out there. You can tell he's been working.'
Beane declined to say whether the Bills are close to working out a new agreement with Cook.
'I'll keep that between us as far as that's going,' Beane said. 'But the relationship's very good. I know Jimbo's going to be ready to roll when we get to Rochester.'
***
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.
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