The Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets are set to kick off in just under 90 minutes, which means that each team has officially set its inactive list for the day. While the Bills had only ruled out one player prior to this game, he’s a big one—literally and figuratively. The Jets, on the other hand, had listed three players as out as of Friday’s injury report.
Buffalo called up two players from its practice squad, as well, which gave us some insight as to which other players might be ruled out this
week. We have the full list for you below.
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WR Curtis Samuel
Another week, another healthy scratch for the pricey veteran. Elijah Moore and Tyrell Shavers are WRs 4 and 5, respectively. They each contribute on special teams, which gives them a leg up on Samuel.
OT Chase Lundt
The rookie is a healthy scratch for the second straight week. Veterans Ryan Van Demark and Alec Anderson both are active as backups with experience at tackle, while Sedrick Van Pran-Granger is dressed this week as the eighth lineman after missing last week.
EDGE Landon Jackson
The rookie is a healthy scratch once again as the Bills go with Javon Solomon as DE4 for his pass-rush juice and, perhaps more importantly, his use on special teams.
DT Ed Oliver
This one hurts, as Oliver was easily the best player on defense for the Bills last week. He was injured in Wednesday’s practice when someone stepped on him. Zion Logue is up from the practice squad, and he’ll rotate in with Deone Walker as the backups, presumedly, to veteran DaQuan Jones and rookie T.J. Sanders.
LB Shaq Thompson
This move was foreshadowed when the team elevated linebacker Keonte Jenkins from the practice squad on Saturday. Thompson is dealing with injuries to his hamstring and his hand, so he’ll sit today.
CB Taron Johnson
Buffalo’s top slot corner is a no-go this weekend thanks to a quad injury. That hurts the Bills plenty, as he generally is regarded as a solid player both against the pass and the run. If the Jets go run-heavy as I expect, we may see more of Dorian Williams as a third linebacker/eleventh defender. We’re also likely to see more Cam Lewis in the slot. Tre’Davious White is active, so we’ll have to wait to see what they do with him and with rookie Dorian Strong, who played up to his name in his first career game last weekend.
DB Jordan Hancock
The versatile safety-nickel hybrid is out this week, which definitely impacts the Bills given that Johnson is out, as well. That leaves just Lewis as a tested option in the slot, and if he’s injured during the game, the Bills have some questions to answer. Will Strong play inside some? Will they kick White in there? How about Ja’Marcus Ingram? We’ll have to see.
Here is the inactive list for the Jets:
