Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott touts his “process” and “culture.” Much of it is coach-speak, but some of it does hold weight. McDermott’s found a way to bring players to Buffalo who want to be with the Bills, a task that previously seemed unattainable.
In order to do so, McDermott’s been true to his word in one sense. If you earn a spot, you play. McDermott even discussed the “next man up” mentality earlier this training camp. When searching for proof of this concept, look no further than Levi Wallace.
Formerly an undrafted rookie free agent of the Bills, the cornerback has made 23 starts for the Bills over the past two seasons. Now in 2020, Wallace is battling for the starting gig he’s held across from Tre’Davious White against former All-Pro Josh Norman. Even that alone is something that seemed unlikely at one point in time.
While battling to keep that job, Wallace, who spoke from his team’s training camp on Tuesday via video conference, said there’s something else near and dear to him on his mind despite his competition vs. Norman. Due to the crazy offseason the NFL is enduring thanks to COVID-19, current UDFA rookies have an even further uphill battle than he had in 2018.
Wallace had preseason games to show his worth. Heck, he even had some padded practices, the Bills won’t have any of those for another week. In lieu of those opportunities for his fellow UDFA brethren, Wallace said he’s trying to be a mentor of sorts to such players in the Bills locker room this offseason.
“I struggle with that, thinking that, if I would have come out during this time, you guys would have never heard of Levi Wallace, if there was no preseason games or any more opportunities for me to be able to compete or to get looked at by other teams. There’s no telling when the next undrafted free agent could be a 10-year starter in this league,” Wallace said. “It’s tough, it’s tough and I empathize with them and my heart goes out to them. But at the end of the day, this is just where we’re at and I can’t make the rules and I don’t have any pulls on the string. This is just the circumstances and I think those guys… I’ve taken them under my wing, you know? To try and motivate them and encourage them and do the best that they can during this time because it’s hard, especially being undrafted.”
So far this offseason, the Bills are looking to give some of these UDFAs an opportunity in Orchard Park. Before even getting on the field, as a safety measure, the Bills had to trim about 10 guys off their usual training camp roster as a safety precaution. In a typical offseason, NFL teams have 90 players in training camp. Instead to promote social distancing, teams only carry about 80 in 2020. But when making a few cuts, the Bills kept many UDFAs around.
Some do reside in the defensive backfield with Wallace, such as cornerback Ike Brown and safety Josh Thomas. There’s also other UDFAs scattered around the roster that have some promise surrounding their skill set. Those include offensive lineman Trey Adams and fullback Reggie Gilliam.
Having a guy like Wallace around, who’s proven it’s possible, is a fantastic component the Bills have in their arsenal to try and get the best out of UDFAs as possible. Wallace isn’t alone, either. Other former undrafred player who’ve made a successful career for themselves in the NFL include wide receiver Cole Beasley, defensive end Mario Addison and safety Dean Marlowe.
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