ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — At this point last year, Terrel Bernard was fighting to earn a starting linebacker spot next to Matt Milano.
“I always felt like I could do it,” Bernard said. “You never really know until you’re in that situation if you’re ready. I felt like I was prepared, but you never know how you’re going to do when you’re out there. I put all my trust into my preparation and whatever happened from there I was going to be happy with.”
The Bills were certainly happy with the season Bernard put together, with his 143 tackles leading the team and ranking 12th most in the NFL last season.
“I wasn’t putting any expectations on myself,” Bernard said. “I think the main thing was trying just to show up and do what I can to help the team and help the defense. Do my part, whether it was making the calls, making plays on the field, trying to be a leader in some aspects.”
The team needed Bernard to excel at all three, especially after Milano went down with a season-ending injury in Week 5.
Milano returned to practice for the first time since the injury this past week at mandatory minicamp, a welcome development for everyone, including Bernard.
“Just his love and feel for the game, it’s definitely felt by everyone else around him,” Bernard said. “I can’t say enough how grateful I am to have somebody like that help me my first couple of years and then now work together and try to get better, someone to learn from. Having him out there around and involved in everything has been awesome.”
Now with a year of starting experience under his belt, Bernard is excited to see what he and Milano can do with what they hope is a full season side by side.
“We’ve had conversations about what we think we can do, what we think we can be and how we think we can work with each other and work off of each other," Bernard said. "You have to go out there and do the work and make it happen, but we’re definitely excited to be able to work together and see what we can do together.”
Bernard is also looking forward continue to grow as young leader on the team.
“Just trying to be a person of influence,” Bernard said. “Whether that’s how I do walkthroughs, how I do meetings, how I operate off the field and then my preparation for when I get on the field… I’m trying to hold myself to a standard of how I operate and execute so that when times do get tough, I’m a person people can look at.”
At this point last year, the Bills knew Milano was a leader in the middle of the defense.
Now, they know Bernard is a leader right next to him.