The Buffalo Bills have made it official: tight end Dalton Kincaid and defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis won’t be in uniform on Sunday when the Bills host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
. This really came as no surprise as neither participated in practices all week, and head coach Sean McDermott had started the week by saying that Kincaid would be considered week-to-week with the hamstring injury he picked up last Sunday.The bigger news – and what presents
a whole lot of questions – are the four players listed as questionable for Week 11. Nickel cornerback Taron Johnson seemed to be headed in the right direction after having two weeks off to deal with a groin injury that happened in practice before Buffalo’s Week 9 game with the Kansas City Chiefs. After being upgraded to a full participant on Thursday, Johnson experienced some type of setback on Friday that McDermott referred to as a “yellow flag” — which dropped him back to just limited participation, and now being listed as questionable for Sunday.
The next problem? Johnson’s backup is also listed as questionable for Sunday. Defensive back Cam Lewis has done an adequate job filling in for the injured veteran but he’s also been limited all week with a calf injury. Lewis is not only Johnson’s primary backup but also a backup safety.
If neither Lewis nor Johnson can make the cut Sunday morning, it’s going to fall to rookie defensive back Jordan Hancock to pick up the slack. Problem? Hancock, like Lewis, does double duty as both a backup nickel and a backup safety. It’s more likely we could see cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram play a lot of dime this Sunday now that cornerback Christian Benford is returning to action.
Since the middle of the Bills’ defense doesn’t have enough issues to sort through by Sunday afternoon, linebacker Shaq Thompson continues to be listed as questionable. The veteran has been sidelined for two weeks with a hamstring injury. Despite being listed as a full participant for the past two practice sessions, the Bills have still listed him as questionable.
Rounding out the injury designations for Buffalo is defensive tackle T.J. Sanders. The rookie is technically still on Injured Reserve but has had his practice window opened this week. After three full days of practice, and despite initially not being given a designation, the Bills reversed direction and listed him as questionable. McDermott had addressed the possibility of Sanders being activated during his morning media session and indicated it was more of an issue of being game ready than healthy, saying that he had some “catching up” to do.
Teams have until 90 minutes before kickoff to announce their game-day rosters, and (technically) their practice-squad elevations. The Bills often announce elevations on Saturday, which could give us some insight into their concerns for Sunday.
If cornerback Dane Jackson is called up, it’s likely that one (if not both) of Johnson/Lewis are sitting. If linebacker Baylon Spector is called up, it’s likely that Thompson is sitting. Although the only guarantee will come at 11:30 a.m. EST on Sunday when Week 11 game rosters are is released.
