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Alaina Getzenberg
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Get used to seeing the Buffalo Bills on many different screens later this year.
The team was selected to appear on “Hard Knocks” during training camp for the first time in franchise history after the rules were changed this offseason, allowing teams that have been in the playoffs the past two seasons to be selected as the show’s subject.
A Hallmark Channel romance movie is currently being filmed that centers around the team and the Western New York community.
Then there’s the on-field side of things with the Bills set to appear in prime time for four of their first six games.
On top of all that, the odds are in the Bills favor. Quite literally. While the numbers are subject to change as the season nears, ESPN BET Sportsbook has the Bills favored in all of their 17 games for the 2025 season, the only team to be in such a position. Twenty-three teams, since 1978, were favored to be favorites in every regular-season game.
The team went defense-heavy in the draft, an area that was in need of improvement after last season. Meanwhile, there is talent across the roster, including an offensive line that allowed the fewest sacks in the league last year, emerging players like wide receiver Khalil Shakir, and of course reigning MVP quarterback Josh Allen. The Bills being favored in every game this year is an indicator of where this group is going into 2025 and the expectations they face, while the work in recent years has led to this type of season with significant challenges still to face.
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Michael DiRocco
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter capped a momentous month by getting married to Leanna De La Fuente on Saturday in Tennessee.
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Hunter, 22, and De La Fuente, 23, met at Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Georgia, and dated throughout Hunter’s three-year college career at Jackson State and Colorado. The couple got engaged in February 2024.
Per a video circulating online, Hunter gifted his new wife a black Mercedes Benz AMG G63 Brabus 800 worth more than $200,000.
The Jaguars traded up three spots in last month’s NFL draft to select Hunter with the No. 2 pick. Hunter participated in Colorado’s graduation ceremony on May 8 — wearing Jaguars pajama pants, which he said was the first thing he purchased the night he was drafted, under his gown — and was back in Jacksonville two days later for the team’s rookie minicamp.
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Rich Cimini
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — This time, New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson made his intentions clear. It was a departure from his public frustration in December that fueled speculation he was considering a trade request.
“I’m hopeful I’m a Jet for life and that we get this thing rolling and that all of our best days are ahead of us,” Wilson said Wednesday after the Jets’ first open OTA practice.
Wilson’s comments were significant because he is eligible for a contract extension. Nothing is imminent, but Jets officials have said they’d like to lock up their top young players. Wilson, who is signed through 2026 (his fifth-year option was recently exercised), said there have been “a few discussions, here and there” between his agent and the team.
“When the time does come and those conversations are being had,” he added, “I’m going to try and do my part to make sure that it’s undeniable.”
Wilson posted career highs last season in receptions (101), receiving yards (1,104) and touchdowns (seven), but his in-game body language, combined with cryptic comments about his future, created the perception he was disgruntled.
“I understand that it’s perceived a certain way,” he said. “The reality of it is — no, I wasn’t happy losing, but I wasn’t unhappy.”
Two things contributed to Wilson’s attitude change: The arrival of coach Aaron Glenn, who has infused the organization with hope, and the Editor’s Picks
2 Related “So, for me, I know exactly what he can do, and I still think the world’s got to see it. And that’s a beautiful thing about this. We’ve all got something to prove on this team. We haven’t done nothing yet. And I know we all got that chip on our shoulder.” Fields, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract as a free agent, has impressed the Jets with what many describe as a quiet confidence. Glenn said Fields is “authentic”: “He’s not going to change for nobody, and I’d rather have that than somebody that’s fake.” As Glenn added, “I like that he’s not trying to be — and I’m going to use a [Bill] Parcells [quote] now: He’s not trying to be the celebrity quarterback. He’s just trying to be himself.” He didn’t mention Rodgers by name, but Glenn’s reference to a “celebrity quarterback” certainly conjured up thoughts of the future Hall of Famer who was released by Glenn in a brief and contentious meeting on Feb. 6.
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Courtney Cronin
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — New Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson said he looks at the franchise’s troubling track record of developing quarterbacks as an opportunity.
Excerpts from ESPN senior writer Seth Wickersham’s book “American Kings: A Biography of the Quarterback” highlighted the struggles Caleb Williams experienced throughout his rookie season with the Bears and the trepidation that both the No. 1 pick and his father, Carl, shared about the organization.
Wickersham’s reporting revealed that Caleb Williams hoped to be drafted by the Minnesota Vikings and that Carl Williams did not want his son to be selected by the Bears because Chicago was where “quarterbacks go to die.”
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Johnson smiled Wednesday when asked about that statement.
“I love it,” he said. “I love the opportunity to come on in and change that narrative. That’s where great stories are written. So, we’re looking to write a new chapter here — 2025 Chicago Bears — and looking forward to the future.”
Johnson said he spoke with Williams last week after the excerpt came out and seemed eager to move past the issues from the quarterback’s rookie season.
“He’s his own man,” Johnson said. “He’s gonna be treated as such. I think we’re both really looking forward to turning the page on years prior and focusing on the here and now.”
Wickersham’s book also detailed the disconnect between Williams and former Bears offensive coordinator
