PITTSFORD — Ten minutes before practice started, Baylon Spector was alone in the field. He moved laterally and deliberately, his heels never touching the turf.
It’s part of Spector’s new routine, one implemented after enduring an injury-riddled 2023 campaign. Every time Spector appeared ready for a chance to play, an injury cropped up and sent him back to the bottom.
Spector was in the mix to be the starting middle linebacker for the Buffalo Bills early in training camp last year and then a hamstring injury in the final preseason game put him on injured reserve until Week 6. He returned for two games, playing 28 special teams snaps, and exacerbated his hamstring, putting him on the shelf for three more weeks.
After rehabbing his hamstring again, Spector appeared in the final seven regular-season games, and when injuries ravaged Buffalo’s linebackers, Spector started the AFC wild-card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, only to injure his back after 19 plays.
Now fully healthy, Spector appears to be in a better position than he was a year ago at this time. His role is more defined and his instincts create versatility the Bills covet.
“It’s just being prepared,” Spector said. “Just staying in the process that I have been, growing off what I had last year, towards the end of the year. … Continue to stay on my process, not think about what ifs. Just really trying to be right where my feet are.”
Spector felt like he played well when he got a chance last year and his first hamstring injury was a fluke. He got caught in a bad position and was helpless, but he does own some of the blame for the second one.
The 2022 seventh-round pick never felt completely healthy coming off injured reserve and the hamstring continued to be nagging. Spector feels it was a matter of trying to do too much before his body was ready.
The broken back was also a freak injury, Spector says. He slid to recover a fumble against the Steelers, and as he covered the ball in the fetal position, teammate Christian Benford fell into him, his knees landing in the L3-L4 spinal section of Spector’s lower back.
Still, Spector spoke to some older players about body maintenance and started stealing bits and pieces of their routine. Mostly what Spector discovered, though, was that he just needed to be more patient with soft tissue injuries.
“I’ve been talking to the older guys, seeing some of their routine, some of the things that they do off the field, and really honestly, a big part of it is just self-awareness and not kind of overlooking it and maybe honestly trying to do a little too much for the soft tissues,” Spector said. “They’re muscles, you just got to let them heal and not try to master it.”
Despite the injuries, Spector said he never got frustrated or upset about his situation and he seems to be a more confident player early in training camp. Spector has been mostly playing middle linebacker with the second-team defense, but he’s capable of playing both spots in the event of a repeat from last year, when he started at weak side linebacker — his position at Clemson during college — against the Steelers.
At 233 pounds, Spector doesn’t pack much power against the run, but as a former safety, he has natural instincts and is comfortable in coverage. With Spector, the Bills are rarely concerned he’s going to get beat because he’s in the wrong spot and he’s quick to correct mistakes.
“The expectation for us is that we’re going to make plays when we’re in position to make plays,” Bills linebackers coach Al Holcomb said. “It definitely has nothing to do with him not knowing his assignment. It’s just finishing, and really — and this is really for a lot of players — until you get beat in a certain technique or something crops up, then all of a sudden, you learn from that mistake and you fix it, and then you continue to grow as a player.”
Allen spreads it around in brief Fisher finale
The final practice of training camp at St. John Fisher University was the shortest, with the Bills on the field for roughly 75 minutes Thursday.
With a game two days away, the Bills had a light workout and heavy dose of 11-on-11 work. Quarterback Josh Allen was mostly crisp, going 17 of 22 and throwing four touchdown passes, three of which came in red zone work.
Allen hit his first three passes, including a deep ball to Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who beat cornerbacks Christian Benford and Rasul Douglas down the right sideline. Valdes-Scantling continues to emerge in the offense, catching two more touchdown passes during red zone sessions.
Valdes-Scantling also had a drop, but he had gotten behind the defense and had to come back for an underthrown ball. Rookie Keon Coleman also caught a touchdown pass in the red zone when Allen rolled to his right to extend the play.
Targets: Khalil Shakir (4), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (4), Keon Coleman (3), Dalton Kincaid (3), Dawson Knox (2), Ray Davis (1) and Andy Isabella (1).
Injury report
Receivers Mack Hollins and K.J. Hamler were new additions to Buffalo’s injury report. Hollins is dealing with a sore leg, while coach Sean McDermott did not disclose Hamler’s ailment, but was hopeful both would play in the preseason opener against the Chicago Bears Saturday.
Also not practicing Thursday were running back Ty Johnson (hamstring, eighth missed practice), receivers Chase Claypool (toe, ninth) and Justin Shorter (knee, third), offensive tackle Travis Clayton (shoulder, seventh), defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (groin, fourth), linebackers Nick Morrow (groin, fifth) and Edefuan Ulofoshio (rib, fourth) and safeties Cole Bishop (shoulder, sixth) and Mike Edwards (hamstring, eighth). McDermott said most of those players would not play Saturday.
Left tackle Dion Dawkins returned to practice after missing Wednesday with a personal matter.