The Buffalo Bills do not want to be on “Hard Knocks.” They are not proud to be chosen for “Hard Knocks.” They did not seek to be featured on “Hard Knocks.” They loathe the idea of “Hard Knocks.”

Nobody from One Bills Drive told me this Wednesday because they didn’t have to. I’ve covered the entirety of this administration and have had myriad conversations with coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane about the HBO show since they arrived eight years ago.

McDermott and Beane always have been in lockstep on the topic: “Hard Knocks” is, at best, a distraction while creating the possibility of a public relations disaster.

The Bills have become content darlings with “Hard Knocks” and the ongoing Hallmark Channel production, “Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story.” But any contributions being made for the schmaltzy, made-for-TV movie — McDermott, seven players and five alumni on board so far — are voluntary and rather twee. “Hard Knocks” can involve potentially anyone in the organization, whether they’re amenable or not.

Buffalo finally ran out of reasons to duck the series after nearly two decades in its current form. The NFL used to provide three ways to avoid “Hard Knocks” duty: new coach; team already featured within the previous 10 years; team made the playoffs within the previous two years.

But the criteria was changed last year. Teams now can repeat after eight years, and the playoff provision was thrown out.

So the Bills have to do what they’re told.

Did you notice the Bills posted nothing on their website or social media accounts about being the “Hard Knocks” team for 2025 training camp? When the NFL announced its mandate Wednesday, there was no huzzah from the Bills or any attaboy quotes attributed to owner Terry Pegula, chief operating officer Pete Guelli, face-of-the-franchise Josh Allen, Beane, McDermott, nobody.

The Chicago Bears last year announced “Hard Knocks” themselves with quotes from president and CEO Kevin Warren, general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus. Detroit Lions president and CEO Rod Wood celebrated what he called a “partnership” with “Hard Knocks” in 2022.

The Bills clearly aren’t as thrilled.

In general, good organizations shouldn’t worry about being showcased. The Bills take great pride in having built a perennial winner from the rubble of a 17-year playoff decomposition, but you can’t prepare for what you cannot predict NFL Films will capture.

Although the series isn’t as consistently compelling as it was maybe a decade ago, “Hard Knocks” still can provide a terrific behind-the-curtain look at how football teams come together as competitors and as a family. NFL Films often does a wonderful job at capturing the drama, identifying worthwhile story arcs and highlighting camp battles while slathering on as much pathos and humor as they can find. This is being done for entertainment, after all.

The voyeuristic point of the show, however, is to be invasive. It’s designed to capture moments that aren’t supposed to be seen.

Players wearing microphones at practice are no big deal; teams do that all the time anyway for their in-house media. Arranging up-close interviews for the show is no big whoop. Capture all the footage from the practice fields you want.

But “Hard Knocks” plants cameras in meeting rooms — in such a way that folks forget they’re being recorded.

Take the New York Giants last year. They were thrilled to be on the “Hard Knocks: Offseason” spinoff. Giants senior vice president of marketing and brand strategy Nilay Shah crowed in the press release about taking fans behind the scenes for the club’s 100th anniversary.

“Beginning the moment the previous season ended, we gave NFL Films unprecedented access to this critical time of the year,” Shah said. “We know viewers will gain insight from moments that have never been captured before and are excited for them to learn more about our Giants history.”

Big Blue’s experience with “Hard Knocks” was a miscalculation. It showed Giants general manager Joe Schoen advising free-agent tailback Saquon Barkley to test the market, and owner John Mara expressing his desire to have Barkley back. Barkley signed with the NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles. He rushed for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns and won a Super Bowl.

Schoen publicly acknowledged that doing “Hard Knocks” was a mistake, and you better believe Beane’s good friend and former Bills lieutenant was more forthcoming in private conversations. So gruesome was the Giants’ depiction that the NFL couldn’t scrounge up another team for “Hard Knocks: Offseason” this year.

But also Wednesday, the league announced the Giants were back on the hook (albeit not to the same degree) as part of the “Hard Knocks: In-Season” spinoff that will track the entire NFC East. Headlines downstate read “NFL gives Giants GM another chance to say something stupid,” and “Sick joke: Giants back on ‘Hard Knocks’ after 2024 nightmare.”

The NFL says teams make the final edits before each “Hard Knocks” episode airs on HBO, but that hasn’t stopped unkind viral moments from transpiring and memes from mushrooming. We watch emotional players get cut every summer. Miami Dolphins receiver Chad Johnson, right after a domestic violence arrest, was brought into coach Joe Philbin’s office and released before our eyes. Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis wanted to call his grandma while GM Jeff Ireland was cutting him, a clip that remained despite Davis’ vulnerability. Los Angeles Rams coach Jeff Fisher was shown telling players how rookie receiver Deon Long was released for having a woman in his dorm room. We saw Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson beat back scrutiny from offensive coordinator Todd Haley and running backs coach Freddie Kitchens about injured players and Haley undermine Jackson regarding receiver Josh Gordon. Cameras caught the New York Jets smuggling McDonald’s into a practice, leading to Rex Ryan’s infamous “goddamn snack” speech.

For every intentionally funny moment, there seems to be another joke at someone’s expense, such as Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie needing 40 seconds to (mostly) name his eight kids or Rams defensive end William Hayes insisting dinosaurs are a hoax, but mermaids are real. The Bills don’t want their players, coaches or staffers ridiculed similarly.

The concept of so-called “editorial control” hasn’t guaranteed that a team and its players will always be shown in the best light. And even the material that does get removed still likely exists forever in the NFL Films’ vault. Owners, GMs and coaches don’t want their delicate discussions and controversial decisions chronicled for future viewing — publicly or privately — by someone outside the organization next month or years from now.

What should help the Bills navigate “Hard Knocks” is their well-established culture and leadership nucleus. NFL Films might discover it’s more difficult to capture a Cromartie moment with the Bills.

The show traditionally has depicted teams in some significant form of transition and that, because they previously could opt out if they’d been to the playoffs over the past two years, tended to be less competitive and unified. Teams featured on “Hard Knocks” had an average record of 7-9 the season before, with only eight of the 24 teams reaching the playoffs that season, although that includes the defending-champion Baltimore Ravens in the show’s inaugural 2001 season.

As such, the fact that no team featured on “Hard Knocks: Training Camp” has won that season’s Super Bowl shouldn’t be viewed as a curse.

Now, if the Bills miss the playoffs for the first time in seven years …

At least there will have been that Hallmark movie.

(Photo: Shawn Dowd/ USA Today)