With or without a new stadium, the Buffalo Bills are always ready for prime time. With a new home to be officially christened in September, the Bills want it to happen under the lights.
Via Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News, team COO Pete Guelli said the Bills have informed the NFL of their desire to launch the new Highmark Stadium in a “prime-time spotlight.”
“We’ve already been approached by networks that would like to have it,” Guelli said. “We’re just trying to work through that. It’s really a league decision. . . . However it’s set up, we’re going to make sure that home opener is a big event.”
The prime-time packages are currently held by NBC, ESPN, and Prime Video. The opening game could happen on the Sunday night or Monday night of Week 1, or on the Thursday, Sunday, or Monday night of Week 2.
In theory, the home opener also could be delayed until Week 3. While that would result in the Bills starting the season with two road games, they’ll play eight home games and nine road games in 2026.
Last year, four NFC teams having nine road games and eight home games — the 49ers, Giants, Buccaneers, and Panthers — started the season with two road games.
Offseason programs will start getting underway around the NFL next week.
The ten teams that hired new coaches this offseason will be eligible to start working with their players on Monday, April 6. The Ravens are the only team that has set that as their first day of work while the Cardinals, Falcons, Bills, Browns, Raiders, Dolphins, Giants, Steelers and Titans have set Tuesday as their opening day.
All of those teams will also be able to hold a voluntary minicamp later in the spring. Every team is also scheduled to hold a rookie minicamp and a mandatory minicamp over the course of the next few months.
The first two weeks of work for all teams is limited to meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation only. The three-week second phase allows for on-field work, but no full-speed team drills while the third OTA phase allows for team drills, but there is no live contact allowed at any point in the offseason.
Most of the 22 teams with returning coaches will be opening their offseason programs on April 20 or 21. The Broncos have set May 4 as their first day.
The relationship between Josh Allen and Joe Brady has changed. And Brady isn’t thrilled by the most tangible example of it.
Speaking to reporters this week at the NFL’s annual meeting, Brady explained the new dynamic.
“Honestly, the hardest thing is — it’s driving me crazy — him calling me ‘coach,’ ” Brady said, via Jay Skurski of the Buffalo News. “I hate that.”
Still, Allen is the leader of the team. If he calls Brady “coach,” the rest of them will follow suit.
The situation is somewhat unique. The Bills heavily involved Allen in their coaching search, perhaps as part of the effort to get him to not blame himself for Sean McDermott being fired.
Allen was present for all interviews. He attended the introductory press conference on crutches. (In contrast, it’s unclear what, if any, role Lamar Jackson had in the hiring of new Ravens coach Jesse Minter.)
“He let me know straight up,” Brady said of Allen, “‘I’m not the reason you got the job. You got this job, and now we’re in this together.’ Like any head coach and quarterback, you’re attached at the hip.”
Indeed they are. And the clock is ticking on Allen’s career. He’s had eight years in the league. He’s smack dab in the middle of his prime.
How many chances remain?
For the foreseeable future, Brady will be responsible for Allen’s annual opportunity to boldly go where no Bills team has gone before. Whatever label Allen applies to Brady, he’ll have a central role in the crafting of Allen’s eventual legacy.
Joe Brady replacing Sean McDermott as the head coach of the Bills is the best thing that could have happened to Keon Coleman. The wide receiver has been a disappointment since the Bills used a second-round pick on him in 2024.
However, the Bills continue to have faith that Coleman will grow up and live up to expectations.
“The thing with Keon is from a football standpoint, man, his work ethic, his approach, how he’s going through it, if Keon just takes care of himself off the field and he just shows up, he’s going to be good to go,” Brady said at the owners meetings this week, via Sal Maiorana of the Democrat & Chronicle. “Keon is on our football team. I’ve never said anything negative. I was the first to tell everybody I want Keon Coleman. Keon’s not going to just be pushed aside. He’s going to continue to develop and [receivers coach] Drew Terrell has a great plan of what we’re going to do to be able to get him to be the receiver that we ultimately drafted him to be.”
Coleman’s struggles perhaps trace to his off-the-field problems, including tardiness.
“It’s just about now, just making sure I’m there doing what I have to do so that I can go out on the football field and do my thing,” Brady said. “I think the reality of it is we can’t just coach the players. We have to coach the person. And it’s important that you know, and that’s part of the meetings that I’ve had as a head coach right now is making sure that as the head coach I’m understanding that.”
In two seasons, Coleman has played 26 games, totaling 67 receptions for 960 yards and eight touchdowns.
Free agent cornerback Stephon Gilmore announced his retirement on Thursday.
He posted the news on social media.
Gilmore, 35, has not played since 2024 and did not sign with a team last season.
The Bills made him the 10th overall pick in 2012, and he played five seasons with Buffalo, four with New England and one each with Carolina, Indianapolis, Dallas and Minnesota.
He was Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 with the Patriots when he led the league with six interceptions and 20 pass breakups.
In his career, the five-time Pro Bowler totaled 617 tackles, 32 interceptions, 149 pass breakups, eight forced fumbles and a sack.
