Two players remained on the practice field earlier this month following a Buffalo Bills workout, going through drills for nearly 30 minutes under the midafternoon sun.
That extra work has helped turn cornerback Christian Benford from sixth-round pick to starter and a contract extension and cornerback Ja鈥橫arcus Ingram from practice squad player to solid contributor.
A regular scene at Buffalo Bills practice is reserve cornerback Ja鈥橫arcus Ingram, right, working with starting cornerback Christian Benford.
The Bills know what they have in Benford (top corner) and they should enter camp next month in Pittsford knowing what they have in Ingram (versatile and reliable reserve).
鈥淛ust finding something every day we feel like we could have gotten better at,鈥 Ingram said. 鈥(That day), it was press (coverage) footwork at the top of the route and low hippin鈥 and slippin鈥.鈥
Low hippin鈥 and slippin鈥?
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鈥淚t鈥檚 basically, if we鈥檙e in man (coverage), is staying (in position) and being able to slip underneath the route to make the play,鈥 Ingram said.
Ingram has taken a circuitous route to the Bills. He played at Utah State (two years), Texas Tech (two years) and the University at Buffalo (one year), and didn鈥檛 join the Bills until Aug. 31 of his rookie season in 2022.
Ingram played only five games (all regular season) for the Bills in 2022-23, totaling 52 defensive snaps and 48 special teams plays. Last year was a breakthrough.
Games: All 20 (17 regular season/three playoffs).
Defensive snaps: Combined 215.
Special teams snaps: Combined 344.
Tackles: Combined 28.
Nickel back Taron Johnson broke his forearm in Week 1, moving dime defender Cam Lewis into the role at Miami. Ingram stepped into Lewis鈥 spot and played 23 snaps and intercepted two passes (including a 31-yard touchdown).
Later in the season, against New England in Week 16, the Bills were without cornerback Rasul Douglas and safety Damar Hamlin, and Ingram played 18 snaps.
During the completed offseason program, Ingram said he would be at the Bills鈥 facility from 7 a.m. until 3:30 or 4 p.m.
Did he enter the NFL thinking he had a good work ethic?
鈥淚t went to a new level,鈥 he said. 鈥淢y work ethic coming in was crazy 鈥 I had to go hard all the time. Now it鈥檚 putting in the same amount of work, but working smarter.鈥
Smarter means doing post-practice on-field work and studying extra practice video. Ingram has the same undrafted free agent mindset.
鈥淓very year, I鈥檓 trying to improve and outdo myself,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 want to elevate each season and prove my worth.鈥
Quick kicks
1. Snapping to Allen. An injury kept center Connor McGovern out of minicamp and provided an opportunity for second-year player Sedrick Van Pran-Granger to get first-team reps with quarterback Josh Allen.
鈥淨uintessential to my growth,鈥 Van Pran-Granger said of snapping to Allen. 鈥淚t is truly amazing to be able to share the field with (Allen), learn from him and having (left guard) David (Edwards) next to me and seeing how they think about the game. It is something I鈥檒l be able to apply to my growth going forward and just understanding how to work with Josh and what he likes and doesn鈥檛 like.鈥
Bills center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, blocking against the Patriots last season, got some first-team reps with quarterback Josh Allen during minicamp.
Van Pran-Granger agreed it鈥檚 human nature to sharpen one鈥檚 focus when elevated to play with the starters.
鈥淔or sure 鈥 you don鈥檛 want to let those guys down,鈥 he said. 鈥淓verybody depends on me and it鈥檚 important to make sure I鈥檓 on par with those guys.鈥
How excited was Van Pran-Granger to watch the practice tape on Tuesday?
鈥淚鈥檒l be watching it before I even shower,鈥 he said with a laugh.
2. Big picture view. Middle linebacker Terrel Bernard said it was beneficial for him to take selected first-team snaps off and watch from the sideline.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to see everything happening when you鈥檙e in the mix, so to have the opportunity to see the full picture live is cool,鈥 he said.
Joe Andreessen has generally taken the first-team reps in Bernard鈥檚 place.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been making a ton of plays and is continuing to grow and improve,鈥 Bernard said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been fun to watch.鈥
3. Cincinnati debacle. Bengals first-round pick Shemar Stewart left mandatory minicamp Thursday to dispute the nature of contract talks. Other unsigned first-rounders Travis Hunter (Jacksonville), Jahdae Barron (Denver) and Maxwell Hairston (Bills) were with their teams all week. Hairston signed on Friday.
So what is the Bengals鈥 motivation? Seems like they don鈥檛 want to fully guarantee Stewart鈥檚 four-year contract at the slotted value of $18,969,276. Is Stewart getting bad advice or no advice by leaving camp? Possibly.
I side with the player here. If the Bengals had concerns about Stewart, they shouldn鈥檛 have drafted him.
4. Dawson departs. Bills senior executive Lake Dawson recently left the organization to become senior assistant general manager at Oklahoma. Dawson was hired by the Bills in 2017 and served as assistant college scouting director for six years before the title change. It is the first time the Bills have lost a scout/executive to the college personnel game.
5. Extra points. NBC Sports鈥 Chris Simms completed his annual quarterback rankings and slotted Allen second for the second consecutive year. 鈥淗e鈥檚 got it all and I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 really a more valuable player to their team,鈥 Simms wrote. Baltimore鈥檚 Lamar Jackson was first, followed by Allen, Cincinnati鈥檚 Joe Burrow, Kansas City鈥檚 Patrick Mahomes (last year鈥檚 No. 1-ranked passer by Simms) and Washington鈥檚 Jayden Daniels. 鈥 Allen ranked sixth among all players in officially licensed products sold, according to the NFLPA during the span of March 1, 2024-Feb. 28, 2025, up 10 spots from the previous season. Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley was No. 1. 鈥 As of Thursday night, only two of the league鈥檚 32 second-round picks had signed. Cleveland linebacker Carson Schwesinger and Houston receiver Jayden Higgins were the first two selections of the round and received fully guaranteed contracts, which has put the rest of the signings in halt mode.
