The Bills had their first practice of the week on Tuesday as they prepare for the final preseason game.
With many players out due to injuries and the starters not playing on Saturday, several young players will have a chance to showcase what they offer the team. One of those players is quarterback Anthony Brown. Buffalo signed Brown to a one-year deal on Tuesday morning because backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky will miss multiple weeks with a knee injury.
Brown described the last 24 hours as a whirlwind going from the Las Vegas Raiders to Buffalo.
"It's something I've never done before," Brown said of the last day. "Going from one place to the next in a matter of less than 24 hours was a super big change for me."
Thankfully Brown has a familiar face in the QB room. He and quarterback Ben DiNucci have been training together since their freshman year of college. Brown said there's a sense of comfort knowing DiNucci is his teammate.
"Me and Ben are actually really good friends," Brown said. "We've known each other since college, so it's actually interesting that we're teammates. I trust that if Ben knows his stuff, we're both going to be on the same accord. Whether that's him helping me, or me asking a million questions just to get on top of my game, it'll happen."
Brown will also lean on DiNucci when it comes to getting up to date on a new offense with less than a week to prepare before a game. DiNucci was signed by the Bills on Tuesday of last week and played in 54% of the second preseason game against the Steelers.
"It's one heck of a process, I'll say that." Brown said. "Just trying to get all the terms and erase everything that I know from previous playbooks and get on top of everything I need to know for this week's game."
Offensive coordinator Joe Brady was happy with DiNucci's performance against the Steelers on Saturday and knows it'll be a similar process for Brown.
"It was all hands on deck of just being able to go out there and operate, and he felt confident going in there," Brady said of DiNucci. "If we had to throw the wall, he would have been fine. Anthony, obviously, will do the same thing this week. We'll have our guys ready to go."
Brown originally came into the NFL as an undrafted free agent that was picked up by the Baltimore Ravens. The QB played in two games and made one start with the Ravens in 2022. Brown spent the entire offseason with the Raiders before being released.
"Physically he can do everything"
With the Bills announcing that their starters will not play in Saturday's preseason finale, that means the next time we'll see Keon Coleman in uniform will be for his Week 1 NFL debut.
"I think I'm pretty prepared, ready to get out there, get the game plan and then really get to play," Coleman said Tuesday following practice.
The rookie's two receptions for 20 yards stat line through two games won't jump off the page by any means — Coleman himself described his level of play as "so-so", adding that his biggest learning curve during the preseason has been learning the speed of the NFL and how he can adapt to the way defenders are playing him.
"For one really, you can understand the rhythm that (defenders) play at, the type of things they like to take away," Coleman said. "And then from watching the film, taking into account the guys they're probably going against are not, you know, the same size or your speed and could do the different things that you can do."
Coleman's coaches and teammates believe his performances in practice and his knowledge in the film room are more indicative of where his development is at.
"I love where Keon's at as a football player right now," OC Joe Brady said. "I'm not always just focused on how the production is in a preseason game as opposed to seeing it every day in practice."
Coleman's quarterback has been particularly impressed with the way the receiver has shown the ability to understand the Bills offense and where he can create space.
"His football IQ, and I've talked about it before,"Josh Allen said, "the way that he sees the field, it's pretty special for a rookie to do."
Based on early impressions, Coleman possesses the physical and mental tools the Bills were expecting when they drafted him. The next challenge for the rookie will just be translating it when he faces opposing defenses.
"Physically he can do everything that we asked him for, I have no issues with anything physically," Brady said. "It's just a matter of him just growing and getting experience of how the game's being played, how guys are going to defend him, how they're going to change things as the year goes. And that's just for every rookie."
End zone goals for the last preseason game
Saturday marks Buffalo's last preseason game before roster cuts and prep for Week 1 begins. One of the goals for this weekend is to get into the end zone. The Bills beat the Steelers last week thanks to three field goals but didn't score a touchdown. That's something they want to do before the preseason wraps up.
"It's important because if we're scoring touchdowns, that means our guys are having success," offensive coordinator Joe Brady said. "I know that in the long run the statistics and the game results might not seem like anything at the end of the season, but for our guys if we're getting them a touchdown, that's being able to showcase them."
It's important for the non-starters to showcase as much as possible on Saturday because it'll be their last chance to put plays on tape before roster cuts on Tuesday, August 27. Even though Allen will not play in the final preseason game, the QB is feeling very invested in it knowing how hard his teammates have worked all offseason.
"I love these guys, and hopefully we can get a lot of them back," Allen said. "The reality is, we can only keep 53 guys on this active roster. But again, we got guys that are working hard here each and every day trying to, trying to make the team."
