Bills, Panthers conclude joint practices

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) >> Coach Ron Rivera believes joint practices have become an invaluable part of today’s NFL.

The Panthers wrapped up two days of practices at Wofford College with the Buffalo Bills that he thinks will go a long way toward helping both teams prepare for the regular season. Unlike preseason games, players weren’t allowed to tackle which Rivera believes can be dually beneficial in getting plays down pat while at the same time not risking major injuries.

“I’m not sure if playing the games is as important as it used to be, but things like this are invaluable,” Rivera said Wednesday.

This is the third time in five seasons the Panthers have practiced with another team.

“If you can get two teams that come in focused on working and developing you can help each other out a lot,” Rivera said.

Rivera didn’t play his starters in the preseason opener against Chicago, but said they will get some work in in Friday night’s game against the Bills. Quarterback Cam Newton, who is coming off arthroscopic shoulder surgery in the offseason, is expected to play.

Other things from the joint Bills-Panthers joint practice:

A DECADE LONG PLAYER

Buffalo’s 21-year-old middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds has a chance to be an impact player for the next decade, Rivera said.

“We ran one screen against them and it looked like we were going to pick up some pretty good yardage and he ran it down to keep it to about a 4-yard gain,” Rivera said.

Edmunds had 80 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions last season as a rookie.

REFINING THE OFFENSE

New Bills receiver Cole Beasley said he’s starting to get on the same page with second-year quarterback Josh Allen. On one option route, Beasley turned his head and the ball had already arrived perfectly on time.