ORCHARD PARK – Monday morning, Josh Allen was finally able to put faces to the names of the guys he was tweeting and texting with last month during the Buffalo Bills’ free agency spending spree.

The Bills began their “voluntary” offseason workout program at One Bills Drive, and most of the new players were on hand to begin the process of getting to know each other.

“It’s fun to watch guys find their routine this time of year and get to know one another,” said coach Sean McDermott, who per league rules is not allowed to be on the field with the players during phase one of the offseason. Only the strength and conditioning coaches can be out there putting the players through their paces.

“That’s a big piece of what phase one is all about,” McDermott continued. “Guys who may have played on other teams, now they’ll be side by side in the locker room and share stories, get to know one another, build that love for each other that embodies all good football teams.”

For Allen, there were plenty of handshakes to go around.

General manager Brandon Beane has infused the roster with 19 free agents including 15 on the offensive side of the ball. They are wide receivers John Brown, Cole Beasley, Andre Roberts and Duke Williams; tight ends Tyler Kroft and Jake Fisher; running backs Frank Gore, Senorise Perry and Christian Wade; and offensive linemen Spencer Long, Mitch Morse, Ty Nsekhe, Jon Feliciano, LaAdrian Waddle, and Quinton Spain.

As they were getting signed to the team in rapid-fire fashion, Allen personally reached out and welcomed them aboard, a sign that the second-year player understands that, as the quarterback, he has to be a leader despite his relative youth.

“I mean, it doesn’t take a lot of effort to do that,” Allen said of his communication skills. “Just asking for the phone number, just letting them know that you know, I’m excited for them to be with us and be a part of this wonderful franchise and start trying to set that kind of culture of where we want to be.”

It may have been a simple thing, but McDermott was impressed by the initiative.

“As a young leader on our football team, to me it shows ownership and a lot of pride in what we’re doing and his role in our football team, so it’s a step in the right direction,” McDermott said.

As Allen pointed out, this is all new for him. Last year at this time, he was in the final stages of draft preparation. He had already performed at the scouting combine and his pro day, and he was undergoing in-depth interviews during private visits from several teams.

He wasn’t yet with the Bills when they began their offseason program, so he’s learning on the fly regarding what the process is for mid-April in the NFL.

“Throughout this OTA process, trusting on the guys that have been here before, you know, the vets like Lorenzo Alexander and LeSean (McCoy) and just understanding what’s going on because this is still new to me,” he said. “I’m still trying to figure it out with the scheduling or what to do on the weekends, you know, what we do after 12 o’clock, or when we’re not supposed to be here. So I’m looking forward to it. Looking forward to meeting all the guys, especially the new guys, and continuing the relationships with the guys that have been here.”

Allen said he was excited by how the Bills attacked free agency, recognizing that this could mean a vastly different starting group on offense than the one he played with as a rookie.

It’s quite possible the Bills could have two new starters at receiver (Brown and Beasley), a new tight end (Kroft) and up to four offensive linemen with the lone returnee being Dion Dawkins.

“It means we’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said. “A lot of different new minds trying to work with each other now and trying to build that camaraderie, especially using this time to develop that team chemistry. There’s a lot of new guys. Obviously coming into a new system it’s not going to be perfect right away and we don’t expect it to be perfect, but starting that communication now and hopefully using this time we can start getting on the same page with everything.”

Allen missed five games last season with an elbow injury, but he said everything is fine and he is not hindered at all. He also reported that his offseason training has gone well.

“Did some therapy on it for the first couple weeks and then after that, no problems at all,” he said. “I feel like I’m in a good place right now. Obviously wasn’t as aggressive as last year, not having the combine and the pro day and having to be in tip-top physical shape. But this is the point now where we want to start ramping it up and start getting back into playing shape. And then when we get into June and July, that’s when you still want to stay aggressive and try to peak at the right time.”

MAIORANA@Gannett.com

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