Seven night practices and a pair of double sessions highlight the Buffalo Bills’ training camp schedule, which was announced Thursday.

This will be the 10th year that St. John Fisher College in Pittsford has hosted the camp, tentatively scheduled to run from Saturday, July 25 to Wednesday, Aug. 19.

The first night practice is slated for July 28. The second evening session July 30 will feature the launch of the Bills’ official jersey commemorating the 50th anniversary of the American Football League.

There are five more night practices scheduled for August, including back-to-back evening workouts Aug. 11 and 12. The others are Aug. 4, 6 and 17.

Training camp opens with practices in the morning and afternoon July 25 and 26. For the first time, tickets will be required for admission for each of the first four workouts. Tickets for the double sessions and night practices are free to the public. When and where they can be obtained will be announced later.

Russ Brandon, the Bills’ chief operating officer, said fan safety was the reason for the ticketed practices on opening weekend.

“By ticketing these practices we can have a firm grasp on the attendance numbers,” Brandon said. “Normally, our first set of practices is on a Friday and we see spiked attendance on Saturday. This year, our first practices are on Saturday and Sunday and we want to be proactive with the possibility of attendance at those sessions reaching a point that could pose a safety issue.”

Bills cornerback Leodis McKelvin will hold a football camp Saturday for residents of the Kids Escaping Drugs Renaissance Campus and local high school athletes from the Cleveland Hill School District in Cheektowaga.

Renaissance Campus is a 62-bed residential treatment complex in West Seneca offering care for chemically dependent adolescents. It serves the eight counties of Western New York. Those youths don’t currently play on a football team. But McKelvin wanted to do something they could enjoy.

“It’s young kids who are basically giving themselves the chance to go out in this world and make something of themselves rather than just taking drugs and getting unfocused on what they need to do,” McKelvin said. “I felt it’s a chance to help out kids who are trying to get their lives together. They have to go to group homes and they’re away from their parents and family sometimes.”

“Some of them have younger siblings who are looking up to them. They need to show them the way to go. I have younger nieces and nephews who could look up to me and follow my footsteps. It’s all about having fun, interacting with the kids and maybe brighten up their day.”

Some of McKelvin’s Bills teammates, along with coaches from Buffalo State, Cleveland Hill, St. Joe’s and Tonawanda, will help run the camp.

Wide receiver James Hardy and linebacker John DiGiorgio, who didn’t participate in any offseason work, could miss part—if not all—of training camp while they recover from major knee surgeries.

There is a chance both players could be ready for the start of training camp, but coach Dick Jauron said it is possible Hardy and DiGiorgio could be placed on the physically unable to perform list.

Players put on the Active-PUP list can be activated as soon as they pass a physical. The Reserve-PUP would sideline a player through at least the first six weeks of the regular season. After Week Six, a team has three more weeks of practice to determine whether to activate the player or leave him on the PUP list for the rest of the season.

DiGiorgio and Hardy tore anterior cruciate knee ligaments last season. DiGiorgio’s injury occurred five weeks into the season, while Hardy was hurt in Week 15. DiGiorgio will most likely get the Active-PUP designation since he’s had more time to recover.

Linebacker and special teams standout Blake Costanzo was one of five players cut by the Bills on Thursday. Costanzo played in 19 games over two years, mostly on special teams. He led the team with 26 special teams tackles (20 solo) last season, including seven stops and two forced fumbles in a game at Kansas City.

Also cut Thursday were offensive lineman Joel Bell, defensive tackle John Faletoese, cornerback Kyle Ward and defensive end Gerald Washington.

Jauron revealed that running back Marshawn Lynch did not participate in the first two days of minicamp because of a foot injury, which doesn’t appear to be serious.

“He got stepped on and his foot kind of swelled up,” said Jauron. “So we sent him for X-rays and tests, and nothing is broken, but it was still swollen and sore.”

Wide receiver C. J. Hawthorne didn’t do any on-field work because of an undisclosed leg injury. He spent the last three days with his left leg in a protective boot and walking with crutches. Jauron is hopeful Hawthorne will recover in time for training camp.

“C. J. is in a cast right now and will be for a few more days,” said Jauron. “C. J. has had some surgery and as far as I know, C. J. should be ready for camp.”

Undrafted rookie offensive lineman Nick Hennessey might not be so fortunate. He also suffered some kind of leg injury during the final voluntary practice Monday, leaving his availability for the start of training camp uncertain.