Pittsford, NY -- The Buffalo Bills arrived on the campus of St. John Fisher College a little over three weeks ago, and after one final abbreviated practice will be heading back to Buffalo permanently.
On Tuesday night, the Bills turned out the lights on their final evening practice at St. John Fisher College, signaling the final moments of their 13th straight training camp spent on the campus, as well as the end to fan access at workouts.
With the new rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement signed last year, teams' times at training camps around the league are limited. It was a relatively quick detour to Pittsford and now it's back to the confines of Orchard Park and One Bills Drive.
"It's a little bit different," head coach Chan Gailey said about the new rules. "We can only practice once a day. There's no such thing as a two-a-day anymore, so it's a little unique. Really the reason we're out of here so early is the way the schedule fell. It just fell that way. It's one of those things that it was great for us, but it'll be good to get home, too."
In the early going of camp, both options at backup quarterback struggled out of the gate, leaving Gailey frustrated to the point that he made disparaging comments about the second-team offense after consecutive practices. Since that time however, business has picked up for Vince Young and Tyler Thigpen.
Each have improved and are making it hard on Gailey.
"They've made it tough the whole time," he said. "Vince was really behind the eight-ball early, but he's come on strong. So it's going to be a tough decision for us."
Both Young and Thigpen got some extra reps on Tuesday. For the second straight practice, Ryan Fitzpatrick did not participate in the 7-on-7's, letting the two backups get more time and throws.
The plan for Young is to give him the second-team reps against the Minnesota Vikings on Friday night. He'll trot out on the field after the starters have had their fill. Gailey said they'd get the first-team somewhere around 20 snaps.
Three players had to leave Tuesday night's practice with an injury. Defensive tackle Kellen Heard, offensive tackle James Carmon and running back Johnny White all could not finish the session. Heard has an injury on the outside of his right leg. Both he and Carmon are getting X-rays on their respective injuries.
Five players did not participate in any capacity. Justin Rogers, Josh Nesbitt, Robert Eddins, Mike Caussin and Kevin Brock make up that list. Eddins is the only new addition to the group sitting out of practice. Shawne Merriman returned to work after having a rest day on Monday.
The Bills have one final session at St. John Fisher College on Wednesday morning, and will then head back to Buffalo. The practice is closed to the public.
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