The Buffalo Bills’ defensive roster resembles the rounds list at a hospital ward. Knees, ankles, necks, pectorals – the list is long. So, on Saturday when they announced their practice squad elevations
for Sunday night’s divisional showdown with the New England Patriots, it was no surprise that both slots were filled with defensive players.
However, with cornerback Dorian Strong being sent to Injured Reserve (IR) and linebacker Dorian Williams ruled out while linebacker Matt Milano is questionable, it’s interesting that both elevations were defensive tackles. Zion Logue is getting a uniform for the third time this season – the last for him unless the Bills choose to sign the second-year tackle who was also called up in Weeks 2 and 3. Last week, the Bills left Logue on the practice squad and chose, instead, to put Jordan Phillips on the game day roster. ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg reported that Phillips was not seen at practice this week (league rules do not require teams to report practice squad injuries).
The other elevation went to Phidarian Mathis. Mathis spent the first three years of his career as a member of the Washington Commanders. In 2023, he appeared in 10 games and recorded eight combined tackles and recovered a fumble. Last year, Mathis appeared in 12 games, recording 17 tackles and a pass defense.
Elevating two DTs while ignoring the fact that the Bills have just one depth player as a boundary cornerback this week, and that they will be without Williams for sure and Milano possibly, is interesting. That would lead one to believe Buffalo does not have confidence in the availability of either Ed Oliver and/or T.J. Sanders – both of whom entered the weekend listed as questionable.
Oliver has been dealing with an ankle injury since reportedly being stepped on in practice early in Week 2. Sanders was a new name on the injury list this week, but head coach Sean McDermott told us that he’s been dealing with a knee injury for a while and that it was flaring up this week.
It’s important to remember that with the 8:20 p.m. EDT kickoff time for Sunday Night Football, the Bills have some extra hours to evaluate their long list of injuries. Will morning therapies, stretches, and slow warmups help them put their starters on the field? It will be 6:50 p.m. EDT before they have to announce their game time roster and only then will we know for sure.
