Buffalo Bills: McDermott says Reggie Gilliam has “a long way to go”

Rumored to be having a solid training camp, Sean McDermott put a damper on Reggie Gilliam’s momentum to make the Buffalo Bills roster.

While fullback isn’t a flashy position, Reggie Gilliam offers a different skill set than many at the position in the NFL, especially that of Patrick DiMarco. With DiMarco missing camp due to a neck injury, many thought Gilliam had a decent shot to make the Buffalo Bills roster but Sean McDermott’s recent comments should make fans more cautious about a new starter at fullback.

McDermott even stated how much they miss DiMarco:

With McDermott being asked specifically about Gilliam, but circling back to DiMarco and his missed presence, there’s no doubt that McDermott would rather have the veteran. In any year it’s tough for UDFA’s to make the 53-man roster but with this peculiar offseason, Gilliam had his work cut out for him from the start.

There are other ways to assess what McDermott thinks about Gilliam. The Buffalo Bills coach is usually very coy when answering questions from the media and rarely shows his hand. I wouldn’t put it past McDermott to talk down Gilliam hoping that it makes it easier to sneak him onto the practice squad.

While DiMarco has been out for a couple of weeks with a neck injury, there’s no telling if he will be ready for when Week 1 rolls around. The most likely option becomes Gilliam as the only other fullback on the roster. It’s not like DiMarco has been relied upon a lot in the Bills offense as he only played in 16% of the snaps in 2019 and with Buffalo likely running more two running back sets, the fullback role could decrease even more in Daboll’s offense. DiMarco is mostly relied on for his special team ability, playing 37% of the special teams snaps last season. His veteran presence on top of special teams ability is quite valuable to what the coaching staff likes to do.

While maybe not carrying the same amount of leadership, Gilliam is no slouch on special teams as he was exceptional with Toledo during his college days. Heath Farwell made some interesting comments on Gilliam at the beginning of camp.

There’s more evidence of McDermott’s comments being a “smokescreen”, as the Buffalo Bills never hype up their rookies too much and who knows what they really think about the difference between Gilliam and DiMarco.