Bills third-round linebacker Kelvin Sheppard will eventually take one of the two starting inside linebacker spots, but Allen Wilson of The Buffalo News writes that inevitability hasn’t prevented veterans Andra Davis and Reggie Torbor from helping the newcomer adjust to the NFL.
“I just wanted to welcome Kelvin to the team and let him know that whatever he needed I would be here for him,” Davis said. “Yeah, we’re all competing for the same position, but as veterans it’s also our job to help young guys and teach them how the game is played at the pro level.”
According to Wilson, Davis has supplied Sheppard with a playbook and notebooks from last season, and plans to work out with him in Atlanta. Sheppard was one of three Bills’ draft choices to participate in last week’s player-run workouts.
“I had to be here,” Sheppard said. “…Just to get up here and get into the system and kind of get in the groove of not just knowing the whole playbook, but just being around all the guys and start to get a feel for the chemistry of the team.”
A starter in 30 of his 53 career games at LSU, Sheppard (6-2, 250) finished his career with 311 tackles, including 26 for a loss and 4.5 quarterback sacks. Sheppard was voted a team captain and earned first-team All-SEC honors as a senior.
“He reminds me of myself when I first came into the league,” said Davis, a 2002 fifth-round pick out of Florida by the Cleveland Browns. “When I came in 10 years ago, I used to be in Earl Holmes’ back pocket just trying to pick his brain. I was always trying to figure out what was it that helped guys like him play so long and still play at a high level.
“For Kelvin, (Marcell) Dareus and Da’Norris (Searcy) to come out here, it just speaks volumes about them. To be here to get some of this is invaluable.”
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