LAKE FOREST, Ill. – When Dion Dawkins was looking for now-Bears middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, the Bills left tackle knew just what to do.
“The cool thing about Tremaine is when you’re looking for him, all you have to do is get on your tippy toes and look for the tall … ope! There he is! And then you find him,” Dawkins said Friday.
The Buffalo Bills spent Friday at Halas Hall for a joint practice with the Chicago Bears. The day brought Edmunds – the former first-round pick of the Bills – up against his former team.
“Just another amazon,” Dawkins said, “Where I said, ’Dag! You’re still humongous. Love you to death, man.’ ”
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Bills quarterback Josh Allen greats former teammate and Bears defender Tremaine Edmunds last season. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Edmunds, listed at 6-foot-4, 251 pounds, made himself easy to find. It started with greeting those who knew him as a rookie in 2018, when the Bills took Edmunds (No. 16 overall) and quarterback Josh Allen (No. 7 overall) in the same round.
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“It was good, seeing some of the guys that I started my career with and the staff that I staffed my career with,” Edmunds told Chicago media Friday after practice. “Just kind of reminiscing on old times and kind of joking around. But at the same time, everybody was locked into what they had to do.”
Edmunds also made himself seen on the field. First, he relished the competition, going against the Bills’ first-team offense.
“It’s good, you’re going against an MVP quarterback,” Edmunds said. “It challenges you. … Obviously, you play this game to go against the best, and he’s playing big-time ball.”
And Edmunds answered the call. During 11-on-11, he intercepted Allen off a pass that was tipped by defensive back Jaquan Brisker.
“Brisk made a big-time play,” Edmunds said. “I was just running to the ball, and I was able to make a play.”
Edmunds said he talked to Allen later in the day, but he didn’t mention the pick.
“That’s my guy, we came in together,” Edmunds said of Allen.
Edmunds’ career trajectory could have been front of mind for Bills fans lately. It’s not a perfect comparison, but as running back James Cook dealt with his contract demands, even general manager Brandon Beane recalled having to let Edmunds walk in 2022.
“You're paying a lot of guys, so you can't pay everybody and there's other guys that want to be paid that haven't been paid either and that's sometimes a decision,” Beane said on WGR 550 earlier this month.
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A rocky start seemed inevitable against the Bears’ defense. Multiple Bills starters have missed recent practices because of injuries or a stalemate over a contract. The absences forced coach Sean McDermott to use second- and third-team receivers with Allen.
“We've seen, unfortunately, a Tremaine Edmunds have to leave, a Gabe Davis, you name the player, you'd love to keep ’em all especially when you draft ’em like those guys.”
Edmunds played five years with the Bills, who picked up his fifth-year option, before he set out as a free agent. In March of 2023, he signed a four-year, $72 million contract with the Bears. Of Beane’s draft picks, he is perhaps the most notable that the team was unable to re-sign.
In Edmunds’ first season away from the Bills, he had four interceptions, seven passes defensed, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and 113 total tackles in 15 games. Last season, he tallied another pick, eight passes defenses, a forced fumble, a sack and 110 tackles in 17 games.
Bills defensive tackle Greg Rousseau sees Edmunds as a boost to the Bears' defense.
“I just talked to (Edmunds), out there just now,” Rousseau said after practice. “So, it was good catching up with him. That’s my boy – great dude, great teammate. Really awesome guy, so it was great talking to him, it was good to see him. He’s really doing his thing over there – that defense looks good.”
Across both sides of the ball, it was important for the Bills to catch up with Edmunds. They’ll get more time for that Sunday, when the Bills take on the Bears for Week 2 of the preseason.
“It’s cool. It’s cool to see ’Maine,” Dawkins said. “I’m happy that he just got engaged and family is coming together, and he’s in a happy place. So, I salute him. That’s my dog.”
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