I hope you all enjoyed your week free of Bills football along with Thanksgiving! As a devoted Bills fan, make sure you are recharged and ready to hunker down to take on the last 6 games of this season. This season has been a dramatic step back from last season’s successes and while it is tough to see that the Bills lose more than they win, they are still building towards something greater than the 2018 season. Regardless of outcomes, I do I enjoy watching the Bills every Sunday and today’s post will review the injuries going into the Jaguars game.
Those coming off injury from the Jets game include LB Matt Milano (concussion) & CB Taron Johnson (shoulder). Milano has cleared the concussion protocol and practiced in full which is an excellent sign and should continue his stellar 2nd season as an integral part of the defense. As for Johnson, unfortunately suffered another injury to his right shoulder in where he continues to sublux/dislocate his shoulder during direct blows to the area. He was observed to not wearing his shoulder harness during the Jets game which reduces the shoulder movement in order to limit dislocation which may have resulted in the most recent re-injury. The direct hits to the shoulder continue to dislodge the humerus from the socket, causing pain, weakness, and limited strength. This in turn has caused him to miss short stretches of the season. This is something that he will continue to play through until he feels he cannot anymore or until the end of the season, whichever comes first. He was limited in practice this week and will continue to play at less than 100% until he gets surgery to correct the problem. To note, we have full confirmation of his shoulder injury based on GM Brandon Beane’s appearance on One Bills Live this afternoon, outlined in this tweet here. I expect that Johnson will still suit up come Sunday.
Others practicing in full include RB Chris Ivory (shoulder) and QB Josh Allen (elbow). Ivory was dealing with a left AC joint sprain that caused him to miss the Jets game after suffering the injury during the loss to the Bears. He should have no limitations on Sunday and relieves RB LeSean McCoy as a change of pace back. Allen has been a big talking point when it comes to injury this season, missing 4 games due to the sprained right UCL suffered in the loss to the Texans. He has progressed as expected; Allen himself has reported that his elbow continues to feel better and news reports are showing him making all his passes without obvious compensation. Interestingly, he is still wearing a brace on his right elbow which does concern me, but he may play with the bracing on the elbow as he may be comfortable with the throwing motion with it on. I would prefer to see him play without it, but the medical staff knows best and will ensure that he will minimize re-injury. The only benefit to the brace would be to provide protection in case of a direct blow to the area. While he could re-injure it throwing, the chances are significantly reduced as he has given himself an appropriate time to heal to where he is able to play at a high level. He may not be 100% healed but enough that the medical staff feels he can perform without causing further injury.
Others limited in practice include: C Russell Bodine (shoulder), QB Derek Anderson (concussion), and DE Trent Murphy (knee). I am not sure what Bodine did to his shoulder as he did not appear to require medical attention during the Jets game but this could be an injury sustained in a previous game with re-aggravation or could be a new injury. Until we have more information, I cannot even speculate what he is dealing with.
Anderson continues to battle back from the concussion sustained late in the 4th quarter of the Patriots loss on MNF. He has been slowly working his way back into shape with his limited designation, but is clearly not ready yet. Based on being limited, he appears to be in Stage 3-4 of the concussion protocol, allowing him to go through sport specific activities and perform aerobic activities. Unfortunately, he has since been ruled out for Sunday’s game, dealing with concussion symptoms for nearly a month now. While this is atypical from what we usually see during a concussion recovery, this would be considered normal for concussion management outside of the NFL as not all concussions are mild with a quick turnaround time. Hopefully he continues to improve and help Josh Allen develop.
Murphy continues to battle back from injury after injury. The latest injury is a right MCL sprain suffered halfway through the 4th quarter in the loss to the Colts. He has since missed 3 games and is slow to return but the vibe is that he will be ready come Sunday to help contain the rushing attack. The veteran DE has had 4 weeks to fully recover which is within the expected recovery times for an MCL injury. With his recent injury history, the Bills training staff were not in a position to rush him back and cause further complaints.
Those not practicing are TE Charles Clay (hamstring) and DE Shaq Lawson (elbow). Clay pulled his hamstring running a route early in the Bears game and was unable to return. He since missed the Jets game and right now could potentially miss the Jaguars game. Lawson suffered an elbow injury during practice early in the week which makes it nearly impossible to diagnose. Reports indicate that he tweaked his elbow and is considered day-to-day. Until we get further information, I will not speculate as to what he is dealing with at the moment.
Overall, while the list does look long, with QB Derek Anderson ruled out, TE Charles Clay is doubtful, and those questionable include: C Russell Bodine, CB Taron Johnson, DE Shaq Lawson, and DE Trent Murphy. Clay will not play and even if he somehow suits up, he will not be effective. Those questionable that I expect to play are Murphy and Johnson. We do not know whether Bodine or Lawson are ready to play based on the fact that we do not know the extent of their injuries. If they do indeed sit out, this fits with the roughly 50% of questionable’s not playing this year. I do have a feeling Lawson will be available.
With injuries beginning to take their toll, this is also the time of year where we begin to see players go on IR quickly if they have an injury that will take longer to heal than the remainder of the season so that the team can roster healthy players or guys they want to take a longer look at in game action. Do not be surprised if we see players such as QB Derek Anderson and CB Taron Johnson go on IR in the near future so they can fully address their medical complaints in order to be healthy next season.
Continue to follow for the latest updates and news coming out of One Bills Drive. Follow on Twitter @BangedUpBills, on Facebook at Banged Up Bills, on reddit u/BangedUpBills, and online at www.bangedupbills.com. As always, thank you for reading, and GO BILLS!!
