The Bills coaching staff wanted to dial things back a bit with respect to the length of practice Thursday, coming off a quick turnaround from the Wednesday night practice and with Buffalo's preseason opener two days away. Chan Gailey ran his players for about 90 minutes instead of the usual two hours.
"That was the plan all along," said Gailey. "We play in two days and we came out and had almost like a Friday practice."
Troup returnsA day after confirming he had a broken bone in his hand, DT Torell Troup got his right hand casted. Then he had it wrapped so he could practice fully with his teammates.
"It'll take a little getting used to, but it wasn't that bad," he said.
Gailey after watching Troup practice Thursday is now leaning in favor of playing Troup Saturday after initially thinking they would hold him out.
"We will evaluate that, but I'm more convinced that we will play him than not play him at this point," he said.
Sheppard coming along steadilyAnother player that's working his way back into the fold is third-round pick Kelvin Sheppard. His reps are still being closely monitored so he's still not getting a ton of work, but he was rotated in with the second base defense with fellow rookie inside linebacker Chris White, as the rookies have been paired with Arthur Moats on the inside.
Sheppard credits the veteran linebackers for keeping his mind focused on his assignments and not on the time he's missed on the practice field.
"It is great that I've got a group of veterans like Reggie Torbor, Andra Davis, Nick Barnett," Sheppard said. "They tell me not to worry about it and do what I can and make sure I'm tuned into it mentally and my body will take the adequate amount of time to rest and I'll get back to 100 percent."
Sheppard's playing time is not expected to be significant on Saturday.
HighlightsThe offense turned in some nice plays in the passing game during 7-on-7. Lee Evans showed great body control and footwork as he slowed his momentum running an out pattern, let the defender fly past him out of bounds and then toed the sideline for the last seven yards to reach the end zone.
Brad Smith reached high to pull in a touchdown pass from Tyler Thigpen in 7-on-7 red zone work.
Rookie Kamar Aiken showed good ball concentration with an over the shoulder touchdown grab on a pass from Levi Brown in the back of the end zone for six.
Naaman Roosevelt and Mike Caussin turned in touchdowns on back-to-back plays on throws from Brown.
Stevie Johnson climbed the ladder to make another acrobatic catch deep down the left sideline for a 35-yard gain.
Defensively in 7-on-7 Leodis McKelvin deftly slid underneath Lee Evans on a post pattern to knock a ball away for an incompletion.
Aaron Williams also had a pass break up on a throw from Tyler Thigpen to Craig Davis.
Reggie Corner followed with a pass defensed against David Nelson as Tyler Thigpen tried to hit him on the left side.
Andra Davis and George Wilson teamed up for good coverage on Scott Chandler in the back of the end zone to force an incompletion.
And Nick Barnett got a good angle on a pass play from Fitzpatrick to C.J. Spiller in the flat to keep him out of the end zone forcing him out of bounds at the one-yard line.
In 11-on-11 David Nelson had a well-timed play on a crossing pattern as Fitzpatrick placed the ball perfectly over the corner and underneath the safety for a 25-yard play.
He also hit Donald Jones with a deep pass over the middle as well three plays later for a 20-yard pickup.
Next on the scheduleThe Bills have a close walk through Friday morning before they depart for Buffalo where they'll take an afternoon flight to Chicago for the preseason opener Saturday night. Kickoff is set for 8 pm.
