How Bills reportedly feel about being the featured 'Hard Knocks: Training Camp' team

On Wednesday, the NFL confirmed that the Buffalo Bills will be the featured team for this year's edition of the "Hard Knocks: Training Camp" program. 

For a piece published on Thursday, Bills reporter Tim Graham of The Athletic left little doubt that individuals within the organization are less than thrilled with having to tolerate the "Hard Knocks" assignment leading up to the start of the 2025 regular season. 

"The Buffalo Bills do not want to be on 'Hard Knocks,'" Graham wrote. "They are not proud to be chosen for 'Hard Knocks.' They did not seek to be featured on 'Hard Knocks.' They loathe the idea of 'Hard Knocks.' Nobody from One Bills Drive told me this Wednesday because they didn’t have to. I’ve covered the entirety of this administration and have had myriad conversations with coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane about the HBO show since they arrived eight years ago."

It's hardly a secret that coaches, players and executives don't want "Hard Knocks" crews filming practices, meetings and behind-the-scenes discussions that outsiders otherwise wouldn't know had occurred. 

Back in the summer of 2023, then-New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh unsuccessfully campaigned for his club to avoid the "Hard Knocks" assignment. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers later said that the NFL forced the Jets being on the program "down our throats," and Gang Green reportedly denied HBO and NFL Films certain access during production of the show. 

More recently, the "Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants" program turned Giants co-owner John Mara into a punchline after camera crews filmed him admitting that he'd have "a tough time sleeping" if star running back Saquon Barkley signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent. Barkley did just that in March 2024 and then helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl in his first season with the club. 

A change of eligibility rules left the Bills without a chance to decline being on this year's version of "Hard Knocks: Training Camp" after the current Buffalo regime fell to 0-4 against the Kansas City Chiefs in postseason play this past January. Perhaps McDermott and his players will respond to this unwanted nuisance by going out of their way to help create one of the most boring seasons of "Hard Knocks" in an attempt to avoid distractions as they prepare for the 2025 campaign.