ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The symbolism was pretty easy to spot at Buffalo Bills minicamp.Construction workers are buzzing around Abbott Road in Orchard Park putting the finishing touches on the new Highmark Stadium, which towers over the road. Across the street, other workers are clearing the rubble from the old Highmark Stadium as it is taken apart piece by piece. Before long, it will be a parking lot, making way for a fresh start in a modern facility.“You know what’s weird?” Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver said. “The stadium I knew about football slowly falling down and not just falling all down at one time, just slowly being torn down. That’s weird. It seems like everything I knew about football is changing, including the stadium.”As longtime Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins put it, “That old stadium did what it had to do.” He didn’t think it was weird at all seeing the old one coming apart while the new one came together. He’s spent a lot of time in the new stadium. He’s blown away by the locker room, the grass field and some of the subtle touches that will keep the fans an intimate part of the experience.“It’s time for something new,” Dawkins said this week. “And if something new was that stadium, I’m here for it.”Fresh start has been the theme for this version of the Buffalo Bills. This was the first offseason with Joe Brady as the Bills’ head coach after Sean McDermott spent nine seasons in that position. Brady may have been an internal promotion, but you don’t need to spend too much time around this team to feel the difference. Everything around 1 Bills Drive feels a bit looser. There’s a collecting unclenching that is taking place after nine years of McDermott’s demanding, rigid leadership.But that leadership style also led the Bills to a lot of wins. McDermott’s 98-50 regular season record gave him the highest winning percentage in franchise history. The Bills made the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons and won the AFC East five times. They also went 8-8 in the postseason under McDermott but never reached the Super Bowl.That led owner Terry Pegula to make a change. It’s one that has been noticeable, even if players are still getting used to exactly how to talk about it.“There’s a new guy leading the team meetings and that’s Joe Brady,” Dawkins said. “The energy is just different. I hate that it’s like, ‘Oh new this and new that.’ Because we all love Sean. Sean is our dog. In this business, things happen. We have a new guy in charge now and the flow is definitely a different flow. Joe is younger, he understands a little more. He’s from Florida so we have a different energy source. Sean’s a wrestling guy, Joe Brady’s not. Sean’s a (Pennsylvania guy), Joe Brady’s not. Two totally different guys.”Brady’s challenge will be to get this team to loosen up in the right ways while maintaining the structure and discipline that has made this Bills team so successful over the years. General manager Brandon Beane wouldn’t have hired him if he didn’t think he could strike that balance.That’s not going to show up in spring practices without pads. You might get a taste of how demanding Brady can be during training camp. But all of that will just be window dressing. The games will tell the story of what type of coach Brady will be. Results are all that matters when you have a 30-year old superstar quarterback at the height of his powers. Every season is precious, and this one is in Brady’s hands.Here’s what else we learned at Bills minicamp this week:1. So much is new at Bills minicamp, but an old name was circulating around social media this week. Former Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who was cut by the New England Patriots earlier this offseason and is still a free agent, was posting his old Bills highlights on what is believed to be his personal Instagram account. A few weeks ago, new Bills cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson responded to one of Diggs’ tweets and then deleted it. Diggs and Dawkins had an Instagram exchange that started some speculation about a possible reunion.What I can tell you at this point is that the Diggs chatter is just June social media filler. To this point, the Bills and Diggs aren’t believed to have had any contact. Never say never, but a Diggs-Bills reunion looks like a long shot at best. The Bills have brought back plenty of old players for reunion tours under Beane, but this is a different case. Fences would definitely need to be mended after the way things ended.That’s the first issue with the idea. But Diggs would also need to take a much lower salary than he’s used to for the Bills to make it work under the salary cap. And the Bills are happy with their wide receiver depth chart as it stands with the offseason additions of D.J. Moore and Skyler Bell. Unless they get hit with an unexpected rash of injuries, Diggs doesn’t make much sense.Diggs spent four seasons in Buffalo before being traded to the Houston Texans in 2024. He isn’t the player he was in his prime with the Bills, but at 32, he can still play. He had 85 catches for 1,035 yards and four touchdowns last season for the Patriots. He’s not the vertical threat he used to be, but he can get open underneath and make contested catches. He’ll probably play somewhere this season, but Buffalo doesn’t make much sense right now.2. At this point, everyone knows they’re going to hear Gardner-Johnson constantly on and off the field. The trash-talking defensive back has already become a presence around the team. And this week at minicamp, he finally got his hands on the football. During the final practice, he broke up two Josh Allen passes and then intercepted him during 11-on-11s. Of course, he let the quarterback know about it. And he was still holding a football while talking to reporters after practice.“I got to touch the ball three times today in one day?” Gardner-Johnson said. “Ah yeah, it’s gonna be a great year.”3. In injury news, tackle Spencer Brown (undisclosed), safety Cole Bishop (knee scope), Dorian Williams (lower body) and Bell (left leg) were among those who didn’t practice during mandatory minicamp. Bishop had a knee scope and is on track to be ready for training camp. The Williams injury sounds like a new injury, the severity of which is unclear.Jun 11, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms