The Buffalo Bills got back in the win column on Sunday, but it came at a cost. Defensive tackle Ed Oliver tore his biceps. Oliver had surgery on Wednesday and will likely be out for the remainder of the season.
Oliver’s Injured Reserve (IR) designation means we won’t see him on any daily injury reports, in fact, here’s a whole list of defensive players whose names, among others, we won’t see for a while:
- Ed Oliver
- DeWayne Carter
- Damar Hamlin
- Dorian Strong
- Cameron Johnston
- T.J. Sanders
- Taylor Rapp
However, on the first injury report of Week 9, there was another name that was glaringly missing:
Maxwell Hairston. The rookie cornerback started the season on IR, had his practice window opened a week ago, and played in his first NFL game on Sunday where he split time (close to evenly) with veteran cornerback Tre’Davious White. Now, as the Bills prepare to host the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Hairston is a full go.
Other good news for Buffalo’s secondary was that both starting linebackers Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano were full participants to open the week. Bernard was in uniform, but in a “break glass in case of emergency” form, for Week 8. There was no emergency as Dorian Williams and “Buffalo” Joe Andreessen had a good afternoon in Carolina.
Everyone understands that Andy Dalton is not Patrick Mahomes, and having the Bills’ defensive captain back at full strength will definitely be an asset. Likewise, Milano’s veteran presence and fiery play will be welcomed as he returns (for the second time) from a pectoral injury that has hampered him since Week 2.
Despite the good news, there were some non-participants at Wednesday’s practice, but they weren’t surprises as head coach Sean McDermott told us before practice that the trio of defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, wide receiver Joshua Palmer, and running back Ray Davis would not practice. Davis has an illness and will most likely be back in a day or two. The same can’t be said for the other two.
Jones injured a calf in Week 6 warmups and, despite extra rest due to a bye six days later, hasn’t been able to go since. Palmer was injured during the same game, suffering a high ankle sprain and a knee, thought to be an MCL sprain, injury. Like Jones, he’s been sidelined ever since.
Typically, the Bills don’t return players dealing with ankle sprains for four weeks. That means at least one more before we see Palmer back to work – barring anything more serious being wrong with his knee. Although, the fact that Palmer’s not been sent to IR would indicate he should be good to go between Weeks 10 and 11.
What we didn’t know before practice is that kicker Matt Prater is dealing with a calf injury and linebacker Shaq Thompson, who had a big day alongside Williams and Andreessen on Sunday, has a hamstring injury. Both were limited on Wednesday, but since McDermott didn’t mention them in his morning press conference, that leaves us with questions. Did they get injured during the game, but the injuries are minor, and they can practice/play through them? or Did the injuries happen in Wednesday’s practice, and they were unable to finish the day’s work? How they practice (or don’t) on Thursday will tell us more, as will seeing if the Bills were to open kicker Tyler Bass’ practice window.
It’s not the worst injury list we’ve seen out of One Bills Drive this season. But is that because the IR list is lengthy, or because they are (relatively) healthy?
