Things are finally starting to calm down after an eventful start to the week. Between the regrettable loss to the Texans, initial speculation about QB Josh Allen’s elbow injury, followed by the hysterical fallout of the details following the injury, it’s been a week. Today’s post will review the Bills injuries going into the Colts game.
Those already ruled out at QB Josh Allen (right elbow) & RB Taiwan Jones (neck). We know all the nitty gritty details of the Allen injury along with reports are indicating he is expected to miss 2-3 weeks. I believe the team should use the bye week to its advantage and shelve him for 4 games with rest for 5 total weeks. Time will tell how he responds but the extra time can and will help him heal to prevent further issues or complications of the injury. As mentioned in my previous article, it can take 6-10 weeks for a ligament injury such as this to heal properly.
RB Taiwan Jones (neck) is however, a mystery. Jones presented on the injury report with a neck injury and did not practice all week. Reviewing film from the last game, he did not appear to suffer any jarring hits or injuries to his head/neck that would have led to an early exit from the game. He was also able to play in most of the special teams snaps, having one of the highest percentages on the team. We also know that he did not suffer a concussion, fracture, or any injury publicly reported. So at this point, things get tricky. There is no video to even consider a diagnosis, no reports to identify what is specifically going on with the complaint; only “DNP” & “neck”.
The next section is entirely speculation and does not infer or imply that this is what is he is dealing with. Just trying to identify possibilities so as to give a timeline for a return. Reviewing injury reports since Jones came in the league did not reveal any previous neck injuries which could identify chronic conditions. There also has not been any reported concussions during his time with Oakland & Buffalo. This leads me to believe this neck injury is more acute in nature. We also know that not all injuries are always reported which means he may have been dealing with a neck injury that finally became painful enough to sideline him. This could have been something a hit could have aggravated a minor injury, another possibility that something could have occurred in practice we are not aware of, or something totally unrelated. We did see last year that C Eric Wood suffered a now career ending neck injury that was largely unknown until a season ending physical. This is not to imply that Jones is dealing with an injury or situation as dire as Wood’s, but I am stating that we never quite know the whole story. Jones may be having localized neck pain limiting his ability to move his neck; he may be having pain along with numbness going down his arm classified as radiculopathy; he may be having cervicogenic headaches related to neck pain; just a small sample of issues that could be possible, though far from exhaustive. This neck pain could also be related to the horrific shot he took against the Chargers resulting in his gnarly head wound. He may only miss a week and return without limitations, or this may leave him sidelines for several weeks if symptoms persist. Without more information, I cannot confidently state what he may be dealing with. This will be something that we will have to wait for more information to come out or if the front office begins making roster moves as a result.
Others that dealt with injury from Sunday include DE Trent Murphy (ankle) and OG Vladimir Ducasse (left knee). Both are cleared to play and their injuries were relatively minor. Based on film, I can’t even quite specifically identify the exact injuries they sustained. Murphy took what appeared to be an awkward step which slowed him on that particular play and as a result, missed several plays after but was able to return. Ducasse was hit from behind and had another lineman fall onto him but was able to jog off though with a mild limp. He may have just fell on his knee directly, plus adding in ~300 lbs from another body could certainly cause some type of discomfort. We know the defensive line is on a rotation, it’s possible that Ducasse may be on rotational play if he continues to experience issues.
Others to watch out for is CB Taron Johnson (shoulder) and P Corey Bojorquez (shoulder). Both have some type of right shoulder instability evident with bracing. This could continue to limit their effectiveness, though much more apparent in Johnson’s case due to his position. Both have not been on the injury report recently and hopefully can continue to play until the end of the season when they can address the issue with possible surgery.
This wraps up another Bills injury preview with the Bills continuing to stay healthy. On the opposite end of the spectrum lies the Colts, who have been beset by injury which helps explain their 1-5 start. Here is a link to an overview of their injury report; they are still missing key contributors at this time. Despite QB Derek Anderson making his first start for the Bills, I expect the Bills defense to contain the Colts offense, forcing turnovers, and pulling out a win to move to 3-4.
Continue to follow for the latest updates and news coming out of One Bills Drive. Follow on Facebook at Banged Up Bills, on Twitter @BangedUpBills, on Reddit at u/BangedUpBills, and online at www.bangedupbills.com. As always, thank you for reading and GO BILLS!
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