The Bills and NFL appear to be set to shorten the upcoming preseason from four games down to two due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In doing so, the league will give teams more time to prepare for the regular season via practice, but naturally, it’s a safety precaution, too.
Regardless, four games is probably too much for a regular offseason. But this is no ordinary year. The Bills haven’t had minicamps, barely had their rookies at team faculties, and mostly everything has been done virtually.
In such an offseason, preseason games could come in more handy than usual, so cutting some might not bode well for some. On the Bills, there’s a few that fall into such a category.
Here are four Bills players who could suffer the most from a shorter preseason in 2020:
WR Stefon Diggs
Stefon Diggs falling into this category comes as an easy one. As a team, it’s helpful that the Bills have the most continuity from last season on their offense in the entire NFL. But with a shorter preseason, and overall shorter offseason thus far, it might hold Diggs back over the early parts of his Bills career.
During the preseason, and maybe more importantly during early training camp practices, Diggs and quarterback Josh Allen have to convince coaches they’re on the same page. Namely, offensive coordinator Brian Daboll has to be convinced, he’s the one calling the shots on offense. But if Daboll is iffy, it would make plenty of sense for the likes of returners such as John Brown and Cole Beasley to see plenty of targets early in 2020 because of the chemistry built between that duo and Allen already.
It’s not a knock against Diggs, it’s just the cards the Bills were dealt. This could be a common issues across the entire league early next season. Buffalo isn’t the only team to add playmakers this offseason that haven’t been able to work with their new teammates much.