Buffalo Bills Training Camp Diary: highlights and insights from Day One

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Buffalo Bills hit the field and opened 2021 training camp Wednesday.

Before the players hit the field Bills GM Brandon Beane and Bills head coach Sean McDermott spoke to the media.

Beane announced offensive linemen Dion Dawkins and Ike Boettger are in COVID-19 protocol and were placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. According to Beane, the team will not force any player to get vaccinated they will let it be a personal decision. Beane said the Bills are just over 80% when it comes to players who have received at least one shot of the vaccine.

The Bills GM also said defensive lineman Jerry Hughes has a calf injury and did not pass his physical, he will start the year on the NFI (non-football injury) list. Beane said it is a calf strain and is nothing major and everyone else that has been cleared should be ready to go.

According to Beane, there has been no new progress on a contract extension for Bills quarterback Josh Allen, but both sides are fine with the way things are playing out.

“There’s no momentum or anything like that,” Beane said about Allen’s deal following a few deals around the league. “We’ve had great conversations since he got back here. If something were to get done we’d be excited, but if not, we both know we’ll work hard next year to get it done.”

You can read five takeaways from Beane's training camp press conference here.

McDermott said the team has a lot of work to do, they are not carrying 13 wins into this season, everyone is 0-0. Allen and Bills WR Stefon Diggs echoed that sentiment.

In several viral social media posts this summer, Bills WR Cole Beasley shared his hesitancy with the COVID-19 vaccine. Wednesday Beasley spoke to the media for the first time since his posts went viral, and read a prepared statement.

You can listen to Beasley's statement below and find more on his comments here.

When the players took the field it was Bills WR Stefon Diggs who was leading the first huddle of the season.

We also got our first look at Allen on the field Wednesday.

Bills WR Isaiah Hodgins spent the majority of last season on injured reserve before having surgery in December. He was also on the field Wednesday.

You can find the 7 biggest storylines as the Bills begin training camp here.