Buffalo Bills training camp practice report: Day 9 recap

Before he became a head coach - first at Syracuse, then with the Buffalo Bills - Doug Marrone had established himself as one of the premier offensive line coaches in the business. He's become a folk hero to a few fans this summer by snapping balls to quarterbacks and working extensively with the line during camp practices. Marrone knows what he's looking for along the offensive line.

When the Bills opened practice on Wednesday morning with Cordy Glenn at left guard and Thomas Welch at left tackle, then, eyebrows were raised. The team was quick to note, however, that the team was simply cross-training Glenn at guard, with Welch taking his spot as the first-team left tackle for the day. It appears, then, that both Colin Brown and Doug Legursky remain the prime candidates to play left guard; both took second-team reps at left and right guard on Wednesday.

Marrone: moved LT Cordy Glenn to LG to get him cross trained there. #Bills to carry 7 OL on the roster, with swing G and T.

— Buffalo Bills (@buffalobills) August 7, 2013

With the shake-up, however, it's worth noting what the first and second-team lines looked like today, even while it may only be a one-off thing:

Injuries piling up

When practice started, the Bills had 10 players out of the lineup: quarterback Kevin Kolb (excused absence), running back Zach Brown, wide receivers Stevie Johnson (hamstring) and Kevin Elliott (shoulder), tight end Mike Caussin (hip), guard Keith Williams, defensive lineman Aaron Tipoti, linebacker Keith Pough and cornerbacks Leodis McKelvin (soreness) and Justin Rogers (hamstring).

By the end of practice, two more receivers were out of the lineup: Marquise Goodwin was assisted off the field, into a cooling tent and then into the locker room, and Chris Hogan went down late in the session.

McKelvin was kept at Fisher on Tuesday for treatment, according to Marrone. Kolb, who has not practiced since last Friday, is expected back with the team on Thursday night following an excused absence for a death in his family.

So far, however, it doesn't appear as if any in the team's large pile of injuries will seriously affect the team's Week 1 prognosis. For now, the biggest injury situation to monitor remains Johnson's hamstring - and the veteran receiver is hoping to play in the pre-season to test the hammy out before Week 1.

Safety signed

Mana Silva abruptly left the team earlier this week, and in need of another safety, the Bills signed Mark LeGree. A 2011 fifth-round pick in Seattle, LeGree was most recently with Atlanta, and will don Silva's vacated No. 30. He was on the field for practice on Wednesday.

We'll have more as we see it, but aside from the injury list and the offensive line tinkering, this seemed like a low-key return to the field following a big scrimmage and a day off.