The Buffalo Bills’ big free agent acquisition stepped to the microphone Monday to talk about the start of the team’s offseason conditioning program.

Center Geoff Hangartner, at 6- foot-5 and 315 pounds, is the largest new player on the Bills from a size standpoint. No, he is not close to being a household name like the Bills’ new free agent receiver, Terrell Owens.

Hangartner joked about being in Owens’ shadow.

“I’m pretty angry about it, really,” Hangartner chuckled. “I figured all along that I’d be a big-name free agent signing.”

Owens was not there Monday, but at least 40 other Bills veterans were on hand to begin working out together in preparation for the 2009 season.

The workouts are strictly voluntary, and the veteran players will not be doing any on-field practice work until late May. Mandatory minicamp practices aren’t until June. Owens is expected to pop in at some point. His VH1 television reality series is scheduled to start filming in Buffalo in mid-May. The high-profile receiver did not do a lot of voluntary workouts while he was in Dallas.

“We’d love to have everybody there even though it’s a voluntary session,” said Bills coach Dick Jauron from the NFL owners meetings. “We know, as you know, that he’s a guy you don’t have to worry about being in shape.”

Bills strength and conditioning coach John Allaire said he’s not worried about what kind of shape Owens will be in whenever he arrives.

“No, we’re not,” Allaire said. “He has a very good history of being in shape and ready to go, so we’re not anticipating anything different this year. . . .

“He’s a physical specimen. He’ll be fun to work with.”

Most of the rest of the Bills veterans, meanwhile, began the task of sculpting their bodies over the course of the team’s 12-week conditioning program.

“It’s good to be back, sweat a little bit, get back with the guys, and catch up with what the guys have been doing in the offseason,” said quarterback Trent Edwards. “It’s good to get back as a team and start working out together and working toward our common goal.”

Bills start offseason conditioning

Besides Edwards and Hangartner, Josh Reed, Terrence McGee, Langston Walker, Kawika Mitchell, Chris Kelsay, Kyle Williams, Paul Posluszny and Brad Butler were among the other starters seen working out during the media access period Monday morning.

Allaire said one goal of the program is to increase the lean body mass of the players and make sure the amount of fat in their bodies is at the proper level.

“When we get them here we put them through a little screening process to see how their movements are,” Allaire said, referring to the players’ flexibility. “We also put them in the ‘bod pod’ and get a body fat assessment, see where they’re at and see how much work we need to do.”

The bod pod is a machine that measures a player’s body fat.

“Every position has a range we want them at, or a max percent fat we want them, and then off of that, we’ll assign them their body weights off of that percentage,” Allaire said.

“Defensive backs, wide receivers are very low. Some are down to four percent [body fat],” Allaire said. “A typical NFL cornerback is somewhere around 8 percent to 10 percent. Four is low. Four, you’re talking body-builder type. I mean really ripped and lean. But we have those.”

An average American male has about 20 percent to 23 percent body fat.

Receiver James Hardy, who tore a knee ligament in a game at the New York Jets on Dec. 14, was in attendance and gave an update on his rehabilitation.

“The rehab is coming along very well,” Hardy said. “I actually had my eight-week checkup last week. The doctor said I’m far ahead of schedule, so I started to run in the pool front and backwards. It’s coming all very well.”

He said he expects to be ready for full practice at some point in August.

“They said a couple of weeks into training camp I’ll be able to participate,” Hardy said. “I’ll be able to practice towards the end and play in the last preseason game.”

Meanwhile, linebacker Keith Ellison has signed his one-year tender with the Bills. It is not known what the amount of the Bills’ tender offer was. Ellison, who was a restricted free agent, will make at least $1.01 million this season.

News sports reporter Allen Wilson contributed to this report.