The third week of the preseason has come and gone with the first preseason games completed for each team around the AFC East. While preseason games do not matter, the snaps are still very much real for several players fighting for their NFL dreams.
Unfortunately, the injuries associated with those games are all too sobering as players end their seasons prematurely while others lose their opportunity to show they belong.
Below are the injuries from this past week of training camp, updates from the preseason games, and analysis.
Miami Dolphins | New England Patriots | New York Jets | Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins
PUP
LB Jaelan Phillips (Achilles)
DE Bradley Chubb (ACL)
LB Cameron Goode (Patellar Tendon)
WR Odell Beckham (Undisclosed)
OT Isaiah Wynn (Undisclosed)
Analysis
Nothing new has come out for any of the players in terms of official updates. I do expect Phillips to be cleared before the preseason ends barring setbacks. Wynn did have a quad injury last year but it’s not clear whether he required surgery.
Injury Updates
WR Erik Ezukanma (Undisclosed)
RB Salvon Ahmed (Left Leg)
LB Anthony Walker Jr. (Undisclosed)
LB Jordyn Brooks (Undisclosed)
Ezukanma, Ahmed, Walker, and Brooks continue to miss practice, having been out since August 1 for unknown reasons. Ezukanma’s issue is unrelated to last year’s neck injury and Ahmed has been spotted in a walking boot but no updates since then.
S Jordan Poyer (Right Thumb)
Poyer has been out of practice since suffering a right thumb injury back on July 30. His wife clarified that he has been dealing with a right thumb injury as some online have been giving him grief. As a Bills fan who watched Poyer for the last seven years, this dude will show up and ball out, injury or no injury, I’m not worried about him not practicing right now.
C Aaron Brewer (Right Hand)
Brewer suffered a right-hand injury in practice during the week and was later deemed week-to-week. Whether this is a broken hand or something else remains to be seen, but this is not ideal for a starting center, especially with this being his snapping hand. The Dolphins will have to shuffle some players around until Brewer is ready.
WR Jaylen Waddle (Undisclosed)/WR Braxton Berrios (Undisclosed)
Both are dealing with minor stuff according to head coach Mike McDaniel back on August 7 and did not play in Friday’s preseason game versus the Atlanta Falcons.
S Jevon Holland (Undisclosed)/DT Calais Campbell (Undisclosed)
Holland and Campbell missed practice on August 7 with an unknown issue and did not play on Friday.
DE Mo Kamara (Undisclosed)
Kamara did not participate in practice on August 7 and did not play in Friday’s game.
CB Cam Smith (Undisclosed)
Cam Smith has been out of practice since July 28 with an undisclosed issue before returning on August 5. However, the tweet from Omar Kelly suggested that Smith was injured again on August 7. This was further confirmed by the fact that he did not play in Friday’s game.
New Injuries
OL Kion Smith (Torn Left ACL)
Smith tore his left ACL at 8:25 in the first quarter when he collided with but was able to walk off under his power after playing only eight snaps. Further testing revealed that he suffered a torn ACL, ending his season.
TE Jody Fortson (Undisclosed)
Fortson left with a trainer late in the preseason game with no additional information available.
EDGE Grayson Murphy (Right Knee)
Murphy suffered a right knee injury with 4:11 left in the first quarter before returning
to the game at 14:45 in the second quarter. He was later seen with his knee in an immobilizer after the game suggesting that this could be a moderate injury that could keep him out several weeks.
LB Ezekiel Vandenburgh (Leg)
Vandenburgh suffered a leg injury with 3:44 left in the first quarter and is expected to get an MRI for further details.
WR Je’Quan Burton (Undisclosed)
According to the play-by-play log, Burton was injured after trying to catch a short pass to the left with 12:20 left in the fourth quarter. There were not any additional reports noting his injury suggesting it may have been minor
S Siran Neal (Undisclosed)
Neal appeared to suffer a minor injury that is not considered a concern per Barry Jackson.
TE Tanner Connor (Undisclosed)
According to Joe Schad of The Palm Beach Post, Conner was injured during Friday’s game against the Falcons but there are not any additional details at this time. He was injured with 11:32 left in the third quarter.
New England Patriots
PUP
WR Kendrick Bourne (Right ACL)
OT Cole Strange (Left Patellar Tendon)
LB Sione Takitaki (Knee Scope)
C/G Jake Andrews (Meniscus Tear)- Injured Reserve
Analysis
Bourne should slowly ramp up to return to the active roster within the next few weeks to begin getting actual reps with the offense. There is a chance that he could start on regular season PUP if he has a setback or if the team simply doesn’t believe he is ready, but I have not seen anything to suggest that he isn’t heading in the right direction.
Strange will be out for the foreseeable future and Takitaki should be returning soon as knee scopes are pretty straightforward.
As for Andrews, there was a report that indicated that he suffered a torn meniscus in training camp and underwent surgery on August 7.
I haven’t seen anyone else report this but the only thing that doesn’t make sense is why he would start on PUP and then go to injured reserve later. I wonder if they knew about the tear before camp, he could not pass a physical and tried rehab to see if he could get the knee in shape to play. After two to three weeks, they appeared to shut him down and get the meniscus repaired according to that report. If he were to come back, the team would have to have him be an IR designation pulled over to the regular season, but I doubt they do that based on who he is as a player.
Injury Updates
OT Chukwuma Okorafor (Undisclosed)/CB Marcus Jones (Undisclosed)/S Joshuah Bledsoe (Undisclosed)
All three players missed practice on August 5 with Okorafor missing three practices to that point whereas Jones missed two. No additional details are available as to the specifics of their injuries.
S Marte Mapu (Undisclosed)
Mapu continues to miss time dating back to July 28 and other than appearances on the sidelines, has not practiced.
Analysis
It’s worth highlighting that I didn’t see any injuries reported from Thursday’s preseason game. As it is custom for New England, everything is undisclosed and there isn’t a lot of change or information.
New York Jets
PUP
WR Mike Williams (ACL)- Removed
Analysis
Williams being cleared roughly 10 months after he underwent ACL reconstruction is incredibly promising as he is now cleared to practice and begin building chemistry with Aaron Rodgers. Williams will still require some time to ramp up and may not even see playing time during the preseason but this is a step in the right direction for Williams to become a strong number two option.
Injury Updates
OT Tyron Smith (Tightness)
Smith continues to require time off due to tightness and the team slowly working him into the swing of things. I had some reservations about bringing Smith in to begin with due to his age and injury history. While I do understand they want to save his reps for the regular season, I would still want my expected starter to get some work in to make sure he gels with the offensive line. This isn’t a great look, but the extra reps going to Ola Fashanu may be the better long-term play.
WR Irv Charles (Lower body)
Charles suffered a lower-body injury limping off the field on August 5 before returning for practice the rest of the week.
WR Jason Brownlee (Undisclosed)
Brownlee briefly required assistance from training staff members before returning not even 10 minutes later to continue practicing.
S Ashtyn Davis (Undisclosed)/OLChris Glaser (Undisclosed)
Both had to leave the field for unknown reasons on August 7 with no further updates available at this time.
WR Xavier Gipson (Leg)
Originally suffering a leg injury on July 26, Gipson was able to return to practice on August 7 performing drills off to the side.
New Injuries
LB Chazz Surrat (Undisclosed)
Surratt suffered an injury with 8:02 left in the second quarter but returned several minutes later with 3:18 left and finished the game.
LB Jimmy Ciarlo (Knee)
Ciarlo suffered a knee injury with 2:38 left in the third quarter of Saturday’s game and did not return.
CB Brandon Codrington (Undisclosed)
Codrington suffered an undisclosed injury with 52 seconds left in the third quarter and did not return.
Buffalo Bills
For a recap of the latest injuries following this week of training camp, click below.
For details on the injuries following the preseason loss to the Chicago Bears, click below.
Final Thoughts
The Patriots and Jets both won their respective preseason games and are doing well injury wise from an overall perspective. The Jets only added what appeared to be a few minor injuries while the Patriots appeared to avoid any injuries.
While the Dolphins won, they lost Kion Smith for the season, Aaron Brewer for several weeks, and a few more that need extra time to determine their severity. It is certainly not a great start for Miami as they look to take the next step.
Finally, the Bills looked dreadful but mostly avoided injury, a possible preview of what things could look like if Josh Allen were to miss time. If that were to happen, the AFC East is wide open and anything could happen.
Hopefully, next week’s games go well and no other major injuries occur.
Top Photo Credit: Phinsider.com
