Thanks Sean McDermott: Starters to play at home against Broncos

Although I know this probably had nothing to do with the fact that the Bills’ second preseason game Saturday against the Broncos is at Highmark Stadium, still, I’m sure Bills fans appreciate coach Sean McDermott’s decision to play most of the starters in this game rather than in the preseason finale next week at Carolina.

It will work out well for the 60,000 or so who will be in attendance for the annual Kids’ Day game, but more than anything, the reason McDermott is doing this is because the Bills are opening the regular season on that Week 1 Thursday, meaning there will be less recovery time between Carolina and the game in Los Angeles.

He wouldn’t get too specific about the plan, which is typical of McDermott, saying, “I’m not going to get into how much they’ll play; I would just say the starters will play a healthy amount - what I feel like is a healthy amount for them this week.”

A healthy amount, I would guess, is the first half and probably not more than that.

“What quarter (they’ll come out), I really couldn’t tell you right now, but I’ve got a decent feel at this point and we’ll see how the game goes,” McDermott said. “And that will be most starters, not all starters. I’m sure the next question is whether Josh is going to play or not. Yes, he’s going to play.”

Last summer, Allen didn’t play in the first two preseason games which were both on the road, but he played the entire first half in the final exhibition at home against Green Bay and completed 20 of 26 passes for 194 yards and two TDs.

But remember, last year there were 14 days between the Green Bay game and the regular-season opener against Pittsburgh. This year, there will be only 12 days from the preseason finale at Carolina Aug. 26 and the Sept. 8 opener in Los Angeles.

That’s why McDermott is going this route, and then will most likely sit the first-teamers against the Panthers, using that game as the final evaluation tool for the bottom end of the roster where several interesting decisions loom.

Brother of tight end Dawson Knox passes away

What a terrible tragedy Knox and his family are going through following the sudden death of Luke Knox, Dawson’s younger brother.

The 22-year-old was transported to a hospital in Miami where he passed away Wednesday night. While a cause of death has not been released as I write this on Thursday, school officials at Florida International University said police investigating the death do not suspect foul play.

McDermott learned of the news Thursday morning and with Dawson on his way home to Brentwood, Tennessee to be with his family, McDermott said: “Tough morning. My heart goes out to … our hearts go out to Dawson and his family during this time, and we’re right there with him and supporting him and his family. Just tragic news that I woke up to this morning. We love him and we support him.”

Luke Knox followed in his brother’s footsteps at both Brentwood Academy and then at the University of Mississippi in 2018 when Dawson was a senior. That first year, Luke got into one game as a linebacker before being granted a redshirt season, and in 2019 while Dawson was playing for the Bills as a rookie third-round pick, he appeared in every Ole Miss game with two starts, making 10 tackles.

During the COVID-shortened 2020 season he played in only three games, all on special teams, and in 2021, after switching to tight end, he saw action in only seven games, all on special teams. Prior to 2022 he transferred to Florida International hoping for a better opportunity for playing time, once again as a linebacker.

What they’re saying at camp

▶ RB Zack Moss on how he thinks his offseason and now training camp has gone: “This is the first time I really had a real offseason to train, especially just coming back off of the year of the ankle injury and everything like that. I didn’t get cleared for camp until a day before before it started last year. So it’s something that I’ve never had before, an ankle injury like that. It was different, it was hard to manage. Our trainer did a good job of having me at least feeling ready to go each and every week. But now I feel way better and I was able to get this thing a lot stronger and feel more confident in the offseason.”

▶ LB Terrel Bernard on constantly having to answer questions about his lack of size: “It’s kind of always been a thing. I know that I’m undersized and I know what I have to do to work around that. But coming in, I get to model my game after guys that are similar sized to me that are here right now. So I think coming in and understanding what I’m good at and what I need to work on, and how to use my abilities to really just take control over my game and what I can do, I think that’s the main thing that I’m gonna focus on.”

▶ OC Ken Dorsey on WR Isaiah Hodgins progress: “It’s been great to see his development, it’s been a lot of fun. I mean, from when he came in to where he is right now, he’s grown so much as a receiver. He’s so smart and can do different things for you and move around and play different spots. I think he’s really done a great job just putting his best foot forward.”

Getting to know … WR Jamison Crowder

The 29-year-old veteran is heading into his eighth NFL season, and when it comes to motivation and inspiration as he continues on his career, he doesn’t have to look very far. His younger brother, Jamaris, provides it all.

Jamaris Crowder was born with Down Syndrome and is non-verbal, so sadly, Jamison can’t hear his biggest fan cheering for him. “He just inspires me,” Jamison said. “I get joy out of how happy he is to come and watch me play. He keeps me going. When I’m out there on the field, I know he’s happy to see me.”

Jamison’s mother, Brenda, spoke to the New York Post a few years ago about her two sons, and she said, “That’s the way Jamison has always been. I thank God for Jamison being an older brother for him. He wants to do whatever he can to give Jamaris a good life and not feel like he is unable or he has this disability and he’s not going to be able to do this or do that.”

One of the reasons why the Bills first became interested in signing the slot receiver as a free agent in 2019 was the kind of play he made the other day in practice where he made a dynamic move to get open, and then had the speed to pull away from his defender.

“His route-running, he’s very fluid,” Allen said. “Obviously, the short game quickness in terms of some of those little juke routes and option routes that we have. But I think you saw it on that play, I think he’s got more long speed than people give him credit for. So to be able to open up like that and get going and kind of run away from guys, it’s really good to see.”

Back in 2019 the Bills pivoted quickly to Cole Beasley when the Jets offered Crowder a little more money than Buffalo had, but now that Beasley is gone, the 29-year-old Crowder - who became a free agent again after 2021 - found his way to Buffalo on a one-year, $2 million deal.

Crowder was a fourth-round pick of the Commanders out of Duke in 2015 where he majored in sociology and minored in African and African-American studies. He had four highly-productive years in Washington, 221 catches for 2,628 yards and 14 TDs, before leaving in free agency.

Even though he missed a total of nine games in his last two seasons with New York, Crowder was every bit a threat as he made 188 catches for 1,979 yards and a matching 14 TDs, and the Bills saw this first-hand. In the first three games he played for New York against Buffalo, Crowder caught 29 passes for 280 yards and two scores.

Here are some things to know about Crowder:

• Personal life: He is married and he and his wife Alexis have two daughters.

• His father played football: James Crowder played at North Carolina A&T.

• Reason he wears No. 80: He grew up a 49ers fan loving Jerry Rice.

• Favorite food: Jamaican jerk chicken with rice and beans.

• Favorite actor: He has two, and they couldn’t be more opposite - Denzel Washington and Bernie Mac.

• Skill he wants to learn: Play the saxophone.

• Favorite movie: Life.

• Favorite musical artist: J. Cole.

• No. 1 thing on his bucket list: Visit Africa.

• Animal he’d like to be: “A jaguar because they have a powerful bite and they’re strategic.”

Buffalo Bills birthday bio: Butch Rolle

Buddy Ryan, the former Eagles head coach, uttered one of the most famous lines in NFL history during his tenure in Philadelphia after he made the surprising decision in 1990 training camp to cut future Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Cris Carter.

“All he does is catch touchdowns,” Ryan said, explaining the move to release Carter, who had caught only 89 passes in his first three seasons, yet 19 went for touchdowns. Why this wasn’t a good thing, only the dearly departed Buddy knows.

Carter’s touchdown percentage was a fabulous 21.3% for the Eagles, but it doesn’t come close to Rolle, the ultimate “all he does is catch touchdowns” player because, quite literally, for the bulk of his six years with the Bills, all he did was catch touchdowns.

Rolle, who turns 57 today, played for the Bills between 1986-91, Jim Kelly’s first six years, as the backup tight end behind Pete Metzelaars and later the third-stringer behind Metzelaars and Keith McKeller. His snap counts were always low on offense and he caught only 15 passes in his time in Buffalo. But 10 of them - that’s right, 10, or 66.6% of his receptions - went for touchdowns.

In fact, all 10 came in succession starting in a game against Miami in 1987 and extending through a game in 1991 against Chicago. His streak was finally stopped in the 1991 season finale against the Lions, his last regular season game for the Bills, when he caught a five-yard pass from Frank Reich and did not get to the end zone.

He joked of the streak ending, “I should have dropped it.”

Rolle left Buffalo via Plan B free agency before 1992 and signed with the Cardinals where he caught 23 passes as he garnered more regular playing time, but only one of the receptions went for a touchdown. So his final career numbers were 38 catches for 213 yards and 11 TDs, a TD percentage of 28.9%.

Thanks for subscribing to the Bills Blast newsletter, and remember, all the rest of my content can be found on our Bills page. If you want to follow me on Twitter, it's @salmaiorana, and if you want to email me, it's maiorana@gannett.com.

If you enjoyed the Bills Blast, please share it with a friend or family member, and if they would like to receive the bi-weekly newsletter, they can sign up here.

Our work isn't possible without D&C subscribers. If you are one, thank you. If you're not, please consider subscribing.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Thanks Sean McDermott: Starters to play at home against Broncos