ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen's helmet has turned into the most anticipated part of the Return of the Blue and Red practice.
It all began when he surprisingly took the field two years ago wearing an alternative red Bills helmet.
Last year he flipped things over to an alternative blue Bills helmet.
Friday night it was a black and red version of the Bills lid.
Allen running onto the field in his latest look and took an entire lap around the field playing catch with fans in the stands.
The practice inside Highmark Stadium was seen by a record 36,136 fans.
While it was the first opportunity for most to check out what the 2024 Bills might look like, it also was one heck of a first impression for the newest members of the team to see what Bills Mafia is all about.
"It felt great," rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman said. "I got excited. I'm just ready to play, I won't lie to you."
"It's crazy," rookie running back Ray Davis added. "I've never been around this type of environment. This atmosphere. These Bills fans are one of the best fans in the world. Just to be out here and know that this was just a practice and we had about what, 36,0000 people. This is insane. I'm coming from college where all we had were recruits at practice. This is the biggest recruit you could ever have right here."
This stadium was not new to one of the the rookies. Joe Andreessen grew up in Lancaster and played games on this field in high school as a standout for the Legends.
Now the undrafted linebacker out of the University at Buffalo experiencing the stadium in a completely different way.
"Hard to put into words," Andreessen said afterward. "Just walking out, seeing everybody and hearing the cheers and everything, I was star-struck for a little bit."
"For a person like me, I know how it's like to be those people in the stands, so I think it's a cool experience just being on the other side of it. I know how much football, the Buffalo Bills means to people that live here."
The Bills are off Saturday before returning to Pittsford for their final week of training camp at St. John Fisher University, which concludes next Thursday.
That leading into the first preseason game, which is back at Highmark Stadium next Saturday against the Bears.