Orchard Park, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The same day Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott felt there is "room for improvement" at the middle linebacker spot, veteran A.J. Klein did his best to keep his name in the conversation for the starting job.
Klein made several big plays during the 11-on-11 portion of practice on Thursday outside the ADPRO Sports Training Center in Orchard Park.
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First, he broke of a pass intended for wide receiver Andy Isabella. Immediately after that, he broke up another pass intended for a tight end.
Then, on that same drive, Klein had an interception of quarterback Matt Barkley, making an athletic play as he was going out of bounds.
Klein is competing with Tyrel Dodson and Terrel Bernard for the starting middle linebacker spot. However, Bernard remained out as he deals with a hamstring injury suffered a week ago.
"We’ve got to do a better job of leading the defense," said McDermott of his evaluation of the position so far. "We’ve got to do a better job with communication, execution. So that’s an area of concern right now."
There’s another battle brewing at the back-end of the wide receiver depth chart, and there is Isabella, who continues to keep his name involved.
McDermott said prior to practice Isabella has been impressive, and will have more opportunities on Saturday when the team plays the Pittsburgh Steelers in their second preseason contest.
"The speed element obviously stands out the most," McDermott said of Isabella. "He’s opened some eyes, at this point."
While Isabella is turning some heads overall, it was fellow receiver Deonte Harty who was on the back-end of a couple of impressive plays.
First, during 11-on-11 red zone work, Harty didn't have much room in the back of the end zone as quarterback Kyle Allen floated one over the top of defenders into his arms. Harty toe-tapped his way to a touchdown.
Harty was involved in another big passing play when Josh Allen rolled to his right, then threw all the way across the field to the other side, where the wideout was able to run under it for a huge gain.
As far as attendance on Thursday, Bernard and defensive tackle Eli Ankou did not participate.
Wide receiver Gabe Davis returned after missing a day with general soreness. Meanwhile, running back Damien Harris and defensive back Cam Lewis both practiced, but were said to be limited by McDermott prior to practice.
The team has off on Friday, as they travel to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers on Saturday. It's a 6:30 p.m. ET kickoff and can be heard on WGR.
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