The Buffalo Bills surprised everyone when they announced they signed DE Casey Toohill on Tuesday. He comes to Buffalo on a one-year deal after being drafted and cut by Philadelphia before seeing the majority of his playing time in Washington.
As a depth option behind Washington’s defensive line full of first round draft picks, Toohill slowly increased playing time as injuries arose. He secured a career high five sacks this past season after playing in 45 percent of defensive snaps.
Toohill has been able to capitalize on playing opportunities due to his availability over his four year career.
Below is Casey Toohill’s publicly reported injury history and any concerns moving forward.
Injury History
College: Stanford
2018
Left shoulder injury, vs UC Davis, missed 6 total games.
Toohill suffered a left shoulder injury against UC Davis and saw him with it immobilized watching practice the following week. He missed the following three games and had a bye before returning.
Unfortunately, he would later play in these games and miss three more after that possibly due to the same injury. Outside of the side of the injury and time missed, no other details were available.
NFL
2020 Philadelphia Eagles/Washington Commanders
No publicly reported injuries.
2021 Commanders
Toe injury, preseason, missed 2 games.
Toohill missed the first two preseason games due to a toe injury that limited him for most of training camp, working off to the side.
COVID, December 12-18, Week 14, missed 1 game.
Toohill was placed on the COVID/Reaerve list for a week, forcing him to miss the Week 14 contest against the Dallas Cowboys.
2022 Commanders
Concussion, Week 2, missed 1 game.
Toohill exited the Week 2 game against the Detroit Lions early in the game due to a concussion. He missed the following week as he worked through the protocol but returned in Week 4 to his usual snap counts.
2023 Commanders
Shoulder injury, Week 17, missed 1 game.
Toohill missed the season finale due to a shoulder injury potentially suffered in practice. According to reports, he went from a full practice designation down to not participating over multiple practices. Despite that, he was still questionable before ultimately being ruled out.
Injury Analysis
There isn’t much to Toohill’s injury history as seen above. He isn’t immune from injury but he has also missed minimal time. Missing 3 games, 2 due to injury isn’t too concerning
The concussion and toe injuries appear to be one-off issues and only caused him to miss three total games, two being preseason contests. As for the shoulder injuries, they are a considerable time apart and it’s difficult to obtain information about both injuries, including whether last season’s injury was to the same side as in college.
He possibly only missed the season finale as the team would finish 4-13 and it did not make sense to play injured.
There isn’t really any concerns moving forward in signing Toohill. He has capitalized on his opportunities to start, securing five sacks last year. It’s no guarantee that he eclipses that number next year. He has shown the ability to produce in limited snaps with talent around him. He could be a rotational depth piece assuming he beats out others on the roster during training camp. Add in the fact that he contributes on special teams only makes him more well rounded as an option in 2024.
Kudos to Brandon’s Beane to look for developmental players, especially with someone with a high RAS.
I don’t expect that he signed for more than the minimum or slightly above. If he can beat out several of the Bills 2023 depth options, than Toolhill could find himself a steady home in Buffalo for 2024 and potentially longer.
Top Photo Credit: All Pro Reels
