Buffalo Bills break ground on new home, reveal stadium name

Monday marked an important day for the Buffalo Bills and the future of the franchise.

The Bills held a groundbreaking ceremony Monday morning as construction got underway on their new stadium. Construction is expected to be completed ahead of the 2026 NFL season.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Bills coach Sean McDermott and plenty of other important figures within the Bills organization and the NFL were on hand for the ceremony, according to ESPN reporter Alaina Getzenberg.

While the Bills stadium will be new, the name will not be as Buffalo has extended its naming rights deal with Highmark. The new Bills stadium will go by the same name as the current one — Highmark Stadium.

“We felt like that was important to the authenticity of the franchise in the community,” Bills EVP/COO Ron Raccuia said in a statement. “Organizations and teams lose some of that value of the importance of a naming right partner when it changes a lot. So it was really important for us to have that continuity.”

Erie County Legislature approved the Bills new stadium agreement last month, and construction quickly got underway. The new stadium is being built across from the current home of the Bills.

The new stadium will be open air and will be built on a 242-acre site. It is expected to be completed in July of 2026.

Buffalo is coming off of a 13-3 season in 2022, which ended in disappointment with a loss to the Bengals in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Bills have reached the playoffs four consecutive seasons but failed to reach the Super Bowl each time.

Buffalo Bills sign free agent Leonard Floyd to one-year deal

In addition to starting construction on a new stadium on Monday, the Bills also made a roster move.

Former L.A. Rams linebacker Leonard Floyd signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport.

Released by the Rams in March, Floyd is coming off of his third season in Los Angeles. He racked up 29 sacks during those three seasons, including nine in 2022.

The Buffalo Bills are a contender to win the AFC this season and they’ve been adding power to the defensive line to help them get there. They signed Shaq Lawson and Jordan Phillips to one-year deals and now reunite Floyd with his former Rams teammate Von Miller as well.

Floyd, taken No. 9 overall in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, is going into his eighth year in the league. His last contract with the Rams, he signed in March of 2021 for four years, $64 million. His former team cleared $3 million in cap space for 2023 when they released him.