Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills’ training camp site has been decided for 2025.
The Buffalo Bills will return to St. John Fisher University for the 24th season according to a report from Rochester-based TV reporter Mike Catalana of 13WHAM. While the number of practices and the precise dates have still not been determined, the Bills are still driving down the Thruway for a couple weeks.
Training camp usually starts in late July with rookies reporting before veterans.
The team didn’t announce the training camp schedule until June in 2024.
Catalana said the schedule will be similar to the last few years, with roughly 10 open practices for fans to attend. In 2017, Sean McDermott’s first training camp as Bills head coach, the team shortened the destination training camp by a week to just 13 practices. It has been that short or shorter ever since.
Only a handful of NFL teams still go away for training camp. The Dallas Cowboys hold training camp in California as do the Las Vegas Raiders. The Chiefs travel to Western Missouri State University. The Steelers stay a short drive away from Pittsburgh at St. Vincent Colelge. The New Orleans Saints have held training camp in California, but it’s unclear what the new coaching staff is planning in 2025.
The only years the Bills didn’t hold training camp away from the facility was 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We also feel there’s value in getting away to camp for at least the time that we’re going to be here for and I think a big piece of that is really to building the relationships where guys can hang out after practice and get to know one another a little bit better,” McDermott said in 2023.
Coaches say it removes distractions to have a sequestered training camp and encourages team-building, especially the down time in the dorms. Without family and home commitments, the level of focus is increased.
The biggest reason to stay home for training camp is cost and effort. The Bills move tons of equipment from Orchard Park to Pittsford in order to hold training camp. In 2019, the Bills opened a state-of-the-art training facility that they don’t get to use for the weeks they are at St. John Fisher, too. The university offers very nice facilities, but not like the one at Highmark Stadium.
The Bills have been coming to Rochester since 2000, when they attempted to regionalize the Western New York fanbase. Team president at the time, Russ Brandon worked a deal with his alma mater, and the Bills have been there ever since outside of two COVID-19 training camps in Orchard Park. It’s the 24th season in Pittsford....
