Two Bills Drive

‘“You kind of have to have two different brains – the head coach brain and the defensive coordinator brain,” he said. “I have tremendous help from the defensive staff, (special teams) coach (Matthew) Smiley and the offensive staff in terms of everyone understanding what I go through on a day-to-day basis.”’

‘Henry, 51, brings 26 years of pro and college coaching experience to a Bills receiver room that will be on the spot this year. Stefon Diggs is the no-doubt No. 1, but Gabe Davis is in a contract season, Khalil Shakir is emerging but inexperienced and veterans Trent Sherfield and Deonte Harty are new to the system.’

‘With that out of the way, of course the Bills would like Diggs to be in attendance. You want your team captains setting the tone, the way Josh Allen is and the way Von Miller, who is still rehabbing from knee surgery, is. That’s especially true given the way last season ended for Diggs, with him storming out of the Bills’ locker room after the playoff loss to Cincinnati, only to be convinced to come back in by running back Duke Johnson.’

‘If he wants Hopkins, Bills General Manager Brandon Beane is going to have to get creative with the structure of his offer. He would likely have to restructure more contracts – potentially of left tackle Dion Dawkins and cornerback Tre’Davious White – to free up the space necessary to sign Hopkins.’

‘“He knows his position. He knows the ‘Z,’ he knows the ‘X.’ He’s going to have a really good year,” Allen said. “I’m not quite sure what (Shakir’s role will be) and how it’s going to look like for everybody, but the dude shows up every day with a smile on his face. He’s ready to work. He works extremely hard, and our relationship on the field is growing, just reading his body language and such. So, I’m very excited about what he’s showing right now and what he has to offer for this team.”’

‘The general food retail areas will have packaged drinks only. “No draft beer is anticipated in the markets or concessions,” according to the documents. “Draft beer is only anticipated at the feature concourse bars,” which will also have wine, cocktails and frozen drinks, along with bottled beverages. So if you have a regular – or nonpremium – ticket, you can get a bar experience but you may have to walk a bit farther.’

‘“The games are going to keep coming, and the teams are going to be really good,” Butler said. “So, we’ve just got to commit ourselves to the process of getting better and understanding you’re developing the No. 1 DB in your group all the way to – we have 17 now. You’re putting the time into each one of them, and I’m proud of the way we responded and persevered. Whoever played, I thought, played at a good-enough level, obviously, to get us to the playoffs, and that’s where we got to. But that’s not unexpected. Football is a violent game. That’s why we’re always trying to get everybody ready.”’