Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) – More than six years ago, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds was the Buffalo Bills' other first-round pick taken in the 2018 NFL Draft, going 16th overall after quarterback Josh Allen was taken with the seventh pick.
Edmunds served the Bills pretty well for five seasons, but left the team last spring in free agency for the Chicago Bears.
Buffalo didn’t end up going out finding his replacement in free agency or via trade, rather the Bills thought maybe, just maybe, their next inside linebacker was already on the roster.
Enter 2022 third-round pick Terrel Bernard out of the Baylor University.
During his rookie season, Bernard only started one game, but played in 16 contests.
Then during training camp in 2023, Bernard was able to win the starting middle linebacker job, where he went on to start all 17 regular season games. He had three interceptions and three fumble recoveries, while also registering 6.5 sacks and nine quarterback hits to go with 143 total tackles.
Bernard seemed to have a knack for big plays, and, arguably, could be better than Edmunds was in Buffalo.
Unfortunately, Bernard was hurt during the Bills' AFC Wild Card Round matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and despite his efforts to return just a week later, he couldn’t play in Buffalo's AFC Divisional Round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
It’s a new season for Bernard and the Buffalo defense, and it’s also a season where they can maybe get him, Matt Milano, Rasul Douglas and Von Miller all back and healthy on the field.
Last year, Bernard and Milano were healthy together for just over four games. Bernard says having his running mate back will mean a lot.
"We’re going through red zone stuff and having to communicate, and things are happening fast out there. He’s a guy that I trust wholeheartedly, and somebody I really respect and look up to," said Bernard earlier on at training camp. "To have him back on the field communicating with me and everybody on the defense, it brings another level to where we want to be as a defense. He’s one of the guys you look to when things get hard."
Bernard doesn’t look at stats or being an All-Star, or any of that stuff.
"It’s coming in and doing my job to the best of my ability, and focusing every day at trying to improve myself and improve everybody around me. That’s the things that I can control, and what I am focused on, and doing what I can do to make as many plays and to help guys around me to make as many plays as possible," he said.
Bernard isn’t concerned with whether it is Sean McDermott or Bobby Babich calling the defense this upcoming season. His linebackers coach from the last two seasons was named the new defensive coordinator just this past January.
"A lot of the stuff is the same. I think certain things they call will be different, how they see the game. But Bobby’s grown under Sean for a long time, and having that experience, they really have a very similar mind on how they approach the game. It’s fun to see the little differences between them," Bernard said.
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Bernard says the biggest thing he’s trying to improve on this year is his communication on the field.
This is the time of year where players can build a bond before the grind of the season starts. Having to stay in a dorm during training camp speeds that process along.
"Especially here, it’s playing games up in the dorms, sitting in meals, talking with each other," Bernard said. "We have a special booth that a lot of the guys sit at and talk about current events. Those are ways that you benefit being here with everyone else."
With all the players that are no longer with the Bills, some people’s expectations for this team have changed. Bernard is not one of them.
"My personal expectations have stayed the same in how I perform and how I communicate, how I execute the defense. I try not to focus on what other people expect outside the building, but for me, it’s getting better at what I worked on last year, and that’s self improvement," he said.
There’s a reason Bernard doesn’t listen to the noise. He says that’s because they expect a lot out of themselves.
"We have a standard with how we execute, and how we perform. That’s where our expectation lies," Bernard explained. "It’s not necessarily any outside influences. It comes down to a daily standard of how we operate."
Deion Jones signed with the Bills after spending eight years with the Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons. Bernard uses the 29-year-old linebacker as a resource.
"Anytime you get people with experience and guys that have been in situations, you can learn something from them," he said of the veteran Jones.
"I’ve gotten pretty close with Deion, and talking to him about things that he’s seen and things that he’s done, just his journey throughout the NFL. I think trying to find people’s perspectives and how they see the game, how they’ve managed and how they’ve gotten where he is, I think it’s something that's valuable and something I look forward to building that relationship."
The Bills had Wednesday off from training camp, but will be back at St. John Fisher University for practice on Thursday morning at 9:45 a.m. ET.
