The start date has yet to be determined, but the location has been finalized. Bills training camp for 2020 will be held at the team's facility at One Bills Drive later this summer.
The decision was made at the league level as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, in a memo to the clubs, announced that after collaboration by the league, the players union and medical experts that all training camps must be held at team facilities.
Based on the medical assessment of current risk factors amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it was determined that the safest way to conduct training camps would be to do so at their own facilities. The panel of experts felt that setting up a second facility for training camp at a remote location presented unnecessary additional travel and exposure risk for players, coaches and staff.
This will be the first time in team history that training camp is held at their team training facility in Orchard Park.
The Bills have held their last 20 training camps at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, New York. They are one of 10 NFL clubs who still travel to a different location for training camp.
Head coach Sean McDermott values the benefits of having his team experience training camp together in a setting away from the team facility, but obviously understands the circumstances under which we're all living right now.
"I've always been a proponent of going away," he said. "I think we're one of the few teams that still do go away. I just believe in that for a lot of reasons. I think it builds fellowship and camaraderie and anytime you can share an experience I think that bodes well for building community chemistry, and the like, which are so important in my opinion to building a good team.
"But understanding obviously this is a situation that we've got to handle in terms of taking best measures to keep everyone as safe and healthy as possible. So I do support it. I respect the fact that the NFL is has a vision and has the foresight to get out in front of things so that from a planning purpose we can plan accordingly."
The league has also decided that to minimize the exposure risk for players that no joint practices with other NFL clubs are permissible during the training camp or preseason period.
Buffalo traveled to Spartanburg, South Carolina last summer for two days of joint practices with the Carolina Panthers.
A date has not yet been set for Bills training camp to open.
