A season removed from an injury that cost him all of the 2025 NFL season, Buffalo Bills place kicker Tyler Bass is ready to go for training camp. If the Bills are going to reach their loftiest goals this season, they’ll need Bass to help them get through the difficult moments.
Many have wondered what’s going on with Bass since he was shelved with a pelvic injury and replaced by steely veteran kicker Matt Prater days before the first game of last season. It’s fair to say it’s been a long road for Tyler
Bass, who spoke with reporters during Thursday’s practice.
Bass noted that he’s in a good place, and excited to return to action as the only kicker on the team’s current roster, stating “we’re ready to go, we’ve worked really hard, and we’re excited to be here.” When asked about the struggles from last season, Bass didn’t hold back, saying “it was tough, it was tough. A situation I’ve never been in, being injured. But, again, really grateful for how they kinda handled it and I’m grateful for, honestly, Prater coming — and he did a great job, and I learned a lot from just being around him.”
In recalling that his eventual season-ending injury reared its head during Buffalo’s final preseason game last summer, Bass stated that “I think we were just still battling through it. I was still kind of hurting in that game and it just never was gonna get better, and we just decided it was time to get it fixed and go from there.
Bass did admit it was a huge challenge to overcome when the time came to shut things down and properly take care of the injury, “I wouldn’t say it was a relief, but you know I finally had an answer to the problem. It was gonna be yard, I knew it was gonna be hard, the recovery. It was hard to get out of bed for a couple of weeks. But once I got through that, you know, show myself and my body that I can kinda do anything.”
As for when Bass was finally able to confidently kick as expected, he said that “it probably took a few months, when I started kicking. But, you know, we started with baby steps, you know like 20-yarders, 10-yarders; kinda worked from there. And then it wasn’t really until like OTAs — like midway through OTAs — where I started really feeling kinda like myself again.”
Now back in the fold and ready to kick in 2026, Bass brings with him a new number after relinquishing his “2” jersey to wide receiver DJ Moore. When asked why he chose “16,” Bass exclaimed “college number, I’m really excited; a lot of good memories with it.”
