The Buffalo Bills have a lengthy injury list to manage during practices in the lead-up to their Week 17 home game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Yet before you jump to conclusions, understand that Tuesday’s practice session was a walk-through. As such, all of the team participated, but One Bills Drive is required to list injury designations as they would appear for a full/contact practice.
The news also isn’t entirely unexpected. Head coach Sean McDermott revealed ahead of Monday’s practice session
that quarterback Josh Allen would be considered day-to-day with a right foot injury suffered just before halftime in Week 16 against the Cleveland Browns.
After finishing out that series, Allen was attended to on the sideline by athletic trainers for several minutes. Ultimately, Allen headed to the locker room early for x-rays, but he came back out after halftime no worse for wear having been cleared to return to the game.
Later, Allen told CBS reporter Evan Washburn “we’re gravy, baby” when asked about the injury during his postgame interview. McDermott added that Allen’s injury could impact his practice statuses this week, but he doesn’t believe it will affect his availability for Sunday’s home game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 17.
Joining Allen as “day-to-day” on Monday were defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (calf), linebacker Shaq Thompson (neck), and safety Jordan Poyer (hamstring). Jones’ injury is likely the pre-existing calf injury he’s been managing most of the 2025 NFL season. Thompson injured his neck early in the game during a tackle. He was designated questionable to return, and did eventually get back on the field to finish the game with the defense.
Jordan Poyer’s injury appeared to happen during the play where defensive end Greg Rousseau and he combined to sack quarterback Shedeur Sanders. In positive news from McDermott on Monday, both defensive tackle Jordan Phillips and kicker Matt Prater were termed “improving” to start the week.
That brings us to Tuesday’s session, where a long list of players were designated as “DNP” in the team’s first practice session. Again, Tuesday was a walkthrough, so every player participated. The “DNP” designation is required per NFL rules to account for a player’s status in would-be full practice sessions.
With that, the following players were listed as “DNP” on Tuesday:
QB Josh Allen (right foot)
S Jordan Poyer (hamstring)
TE Dalton Kincaid (hamstring/knee)
DE Joey Bosa (probable vet rest)
K Matt Prater (right quadriceps)
DT Jordan Phillips (right ankle)
DB Cam Lewis (hamstring)
Per McDermott as shared by Bills reporter Sal Capaccio with WGR550 AM, Prater’s situation is one the team is taking “one day at a time and he’s not clear right now if he will or won’t be available Sunday.” Capaccio also shared that McDermott noted Kincaid remains in “‘injury management’ mode after having a ‘small setback’ recently.”
That’s not ideal news to learn about Kincaid, who’s been dealing with both a hamstring (in-season) and knee injury (dating back to training camp) this season. McDermott had previously informed reporters that Kincaid would be on an injury management plan the rest of the season, where it’s likely he would be held out of practice sessions in the event of any discomfort — and out of an abundance of caution.
It remains to be seen how other players listed as “DNP” progress through the week. The Bills had to plan for Prater’s absence last week by signing free-agent kicker Michael Badgley. It’s uncertain what, if any, injury had Bosa listed as not practicing. It’s also possible that it’s a vet rest day for him.
Jordan Phillips and Cam Lewis are managing existing injuries, and McDermott had previously stated that Phillips was improving. Like Bosa, it could also be a vet rest day as part of his improving status.
Regarding Poyer, the Bills are known to take extra caution with hamstring injuries. Prepare for Poyer’s status to remain cloudy right up until Friday’s game-day designations, perhaps even then leaving him as a game-day decision.
