Why the Buffalo Bills chose Josh Allen and Terrel Bernard as their only captains

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — As the Buffalo Bills began their final week of practice before their season opener on Sunday, the team announced their captains for the 2024 season. The surprise was not who the Bills selected, but how many captains the team will have this upcoming season.

Sean McDermott announced quarterback Josh Allen and linebacker Terrel Bernard will be the lone captains in 2024. For perspective, last season the Bills had eight captains.

"(I) just felt strongly that this leadership structure that we put into place this year is what this team calls for and needs," head coach Sean McDermott said on Wednesday.

A change in leadership was inevitable with so many new faces on the roster. Of the eight Bills captains in 2023, only two remain on the roster (Allen and Von Miller) this season. Allen is an obvious choice and has been the Bills face of the franchise since he was drafted in 2018. This team goes as Allen goes and that will continue this season.

"It's a huge honor to be elected a captain of an NFL team," Allen said Wednesday. "That being said, it takes a village, right? It takes everybody on this team to follow coach McDermott's leadership and the trajectory that he has for this team."

As for Bernard, his captaincy is a sign of a youth movement happening all over the roster. Entering his third season, Bernard is coming off an impressive sophomore season with even bigger expectations this year.

"You know, to be named captain, I don't take it lightly," Bernard said. "I know it's something that I'm going to need to work on every day. Holding myself to a standard, and then doing that to the guys around me. But I'm thankful and I'm ready to just get to work."

"I think it's been really fun to watch him develop as a leader," McDermott added. "His leadership is important and everyone around him feels that."