The Bills are getting healthier but are still dealing with injuries to several key players which could affect their availability for Monday. It’s no surprise that they will look to rebound at home after a bad loss that showed just how beat up they were. Below are all the injuries including who will be out & thoughts on who may play, & their effectiveness against the Chiefs.
OUT
TE Dawson Knox (calf)
Knox missed practice all week with a calf injury from Tuesday’s loss. It isn’t clear how he hurt the calf, only when he generally injured the area. This occurred early in the 2nd quarter before he disappeared with a report later saying he was questionable with a calf injury. He possibly strained it and it’s not apparent on film or the calf was hit, causing the injury. He was tackled low in that area just prior to going out of the game. Either way, calf injuries, specifically strains, usually take longer than one week to heal and can linger if he tries to rush back. The hope is that he comes back next week.
QUESTIONABLE:
LB Matt Milano (left pectoral)
To see Matt Milano practicing in full is a real positive sign. It’s good to see him back out there on the field and it’s good to see him hitting with pads. In the video below, you see him hitting the tackling skid with his right shoulder. By video, it appears he’s wearing a shoulder harness that supports the pectoral injury.
Despite the full designations, I am still reserved about him playing against the Chiefs Monday night. He does great hitting a stationary object, he does great running around with his legs. I am concerned about trying to wrap up players, especially as they run away from him or try to juke him, like in the case of Raiders RB Josh Jacobs, which is how the original injury occurred.
If his target gets outside of him, especially on the left side, I question how effective Milano could be. I had thought he’d miss at least 2 games in my Buffalo Rumblings article and I’m still sticking to that. In the picture below, we do get confirmation that he is wearing a shoulder harness.
If he does play, the Bills are the ones making that decision and they have far more information than I ever could have. So if he plays, then that means he’s healthy enough and this would also signify that the injury was truly minor.
CB Tre’Davious White (back)
White continues to battle back from a back injury that flared up in practice last week according to Sean McDermott. Details still aren’t clear regarding what White is dealing with. It appears that it is more pain-related due to the wording “flare-up”. What’s causing that pain isn’t known.
As it is a back injury, there are lots of possibilities that can cause pain but aren’t apparent on film. McDermott also explained that he will let the doctors make the determination of whether he plays or not which also indicates that there could be something more going on. The doctors will educate White and explain the pros and cons of playing.
We still aren’t even sure which part of the back he is dealing with. My theory is that it’s lumbar because that’s where we typically see more complications and that’s where the weight-bearing portion of the spine that helps keep us upright.
He does look good on film moving around but I do question how close to full speed he is going. He is still questionable on the injury report which may mean that it could come down to how he feels Monday pain wise. Considering the type of person that Tre’Davious White has shown himself to be over his time in Buffalo, I’d expect that he wants to play. But he’s also an educated adult and may err on the side of caution once he has all the facts in place. I will lean towards him playing because he is a competitor, but will not be alarmed if he missed another game.
WR John Brown (left knee)
Brown continues to battle through foot, calf, and now knee injuries. This started as the foot injuries which could have been tied to overuse due to the altered ramp-up period from training camp. The calf injury could have been isolated and also as a result of gameplay as we saw him first deal with this during the Rams game. Add in the knee injury from practice and you got a player who needed a week off.
The knee injury may have been more acute which led to missing Week 5. He has practiced in full the past 2 days and limited Saturday with the possibility that he plays Monday. Having had the week off should make a big difference in the effectiveness of his play if he suits up.
G Quinton Spain (foot)
Still not much is known about Spain. He was a surprise inactive on Tuesday with “foot soreness”. He hasn’t dealt with any publicly known foot injuries since last year in training camp when he had foot soreness as well. I can’t even speculate on what’s going on because there aren’t even any details.
As he is no longer a starter, it’s possible he sits out again, especially if he injured the foot on Tuesday during warmups.
ACTIVE:
Josh Allen (left shoulder)
Allen continues to show up on the injury report with the left shoulder & he continues to practice in full. I had noted that he took fewer runs on Tuesday & appeared to avoid hits to the shoulder in general. We still don’t know the official details of the injury; this will become clearer as the season progresses. It will be important to note whether he takes further shots to the shoulder or if he continues to wear the brace. Fortunately, this isn’t something that will drastically affect his play with the exception of reducing the hits he takes to that shoulder.
Tremaine Edmunds (right shoulder)
Edmunds cropped back up on the injury report due to his right shoulder injury. I had stated in previous articles that it appears to be an AC joint sprain based on the timeline that has been established so far. I had speculated several other injuries, but the latest news and observations don’t appear to support them. The severity of the injury just appears greater than originally thought which could explain some of his struggles. Joe Buscaglia of the Athletic pointed this out in practice which sums up the red jersey thoughts, more succinct than I could ever express below.
I did note in the Matt Milano video that Edmunds was hitting with his left shoulder and not his right. This could have been to avoid further contact with the area or it could have simply been a part of the drill. He has continued to play since missing the Dolphins game and barring a setback which further aggravates his injury, he should continue to play with his effectiveness improving.
Zack Moss (toe)
Moss missed his 3rd game in a row with what appears to be a turf toe injury. I had thought he’d only miss one game and then come back to play, but this has stretched out longer than I had anticipated. He continues to fall in the general timeframes we see for turf toe, but stretching towards the more conservative timeline.
We also have seen the Bills take a more conservative approach towards their rookies, holding them out to ensure they are fully healthy. We saw this last year with RB Devin Singletary who missed 3 games due to a hamstring injury. Moss doesn’t have a designation this week so this means that he is finally reappearing after his hiatus.
S Micah Hyde (unknown, possible ankle/knee)
Hyde went down with some type of injury in the game against the Titans but came back after a brief hiatus. It still isn’t clear if it was an ankle or knee but it’s important to note that he isn’t on the injury report for this week. In this world of constant information, it’s easy to forget things even though they happened just days before. I’m glad to see Hyde not on the report, but it will be interesting to see if he continues to battle through his ankle issues from earlier on.
Other injury news:
G Jon Feliciano (right pectoral injury)
Feliciano continues to work back from his pectoral injury suffered back in July while weightlifting. He was activated last week but he still hasn’t been placed on the 53-man roster. Due to the change in IR rules, he had to stay a minimum of 3 weeks on IR before his window could open. From there, he has 21 days to practice before he has to either go back to IR or go to the active roster. He officially started practicing on October 7th, which makes his final day to practice before they have to make a decision on October 27th.
I don’t anticipate that they will wait that long, though they could. I can see the Bills watch how things play out against the Chiefs with injury or quality of play, then make a decision on who to cut or send to IR in order to clear space for Feliciano. I envision a scenario where he comes back in a limited role for the Jets game & begins to work his way into the lineup that way. He still needs live game reps and all the practice reps in the world won’t prepare him to take 100% of snaps right away.
Inactives:
TE Dawson Knox
RB TJ Yeldon
QB Jake Fromm
LB Matt Milano
G Quinton Spain
The Bills are getting healthier as they prepare to face one of their toughest opponents in 2020 so far. The Chiefs are also dealing with a number of injuries themselves, though they have more players practicing in full comparatively. They did lose G Kelechi Osemele for the season due to double tendon ruptures in the knees which is a blow to their offensive line.
Former Bills WR Sammy Watkins is dealing with a hamstring strain that will keep him out for Monday night which could be beneficial if Tre’Davious White doesn’t play. LB Anthony Hitchens is dealing with a hand injury & illness which could affect his availability for Sunday. One final surprise, OT Mitchell Schwartz was ruled questionable with a back designation. If he is out, losing 2 out of 5 starting offensive lineman in a week would not bode well for any NFL team.
This game should be close with the Bills being healthier and should serve as a rebound game to get back on track. Even if they lose, I would not expect them to lose in a similar fashion from Tuesday night. It should be an exciting game considering how electric both offenses are. I always want a Bills win, but the Chiefs are coming off a loss themselves and want to prove something. Regardless of the outcome, I expect an entertaining game.
Top Photo Credit: James P. McCoy/Buffalo News
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