Buffalo has yet to appear on the show during it’s 24-year run on HBO
Would you like to see a behind-the-scenes look at a Buffalo Bills training camp? Now, under revised NFL guidelines, that’s a real possibility for the 2025 season. In the past, teams that made the playoffs at least in the previous two seasons were exempt from appearing on the show but, according to a report by Albert Breer, that condition no longer matters under the new, “liberalized” rules for “Hard Knocks.”
The new rules for eligible teams is as follows:
*Team hasn’t appeared on the Hard Knocks: Training Camp edition for the previous eight seasons (2017-2024).
*Team does not have a first-year head coach.
*Team is not exempt from selection based on club participation in “Hard Knocks” or a similar access show prior to 2024 pursuant to parameters that existed at the time of such club’s prior participation.
The AFC East could be chosen for the in-season version of the show (which featured the AFC North in 2024), making Buffalo ineligible for the Training Camp edition. There are 12 franchises now made ineligible by these revised guidelines, making the Bills a 1-in-20 choice.
The offseason version of Hard Knocks also debuted last year, following the New York Giants and spawning the infamous clip of former Bills assistant general manager Joe Schoen explaining his process for parting ways with Saquon Barkley, who went on to have a historic rushing season with the Philadelphia Eagles capped by a Super Bowl win.
While it’s likely Buffalo’s brass would not choose to be featured during what is hopefully another division title run, the NFL may have other ideas. It could be however, with the final season being played at Highmark Stadium in 2025 in addition to what would certainly be an effort to highlight the fun personalities on the team that average NFL fans would be unaware of.
Some story lines that would be nice to see play out in a documentary style;
- Buffalo Joe Andreessen’s homegrown hero story
- Behind the scenes of the James Cook drama/potential hold out
- Josh Allen and Hailee Seinfeld’s personal life
- Keon Coleman being a Buffalo connoisseur a la Marshawn Lynch at Applebees
- New stadium development