An avalanche of Buffalo Bills injury news came crashing down on Monday afternoon as an exhaustive list of injury updates was provided sending the fanbase into a panic. While the latest rash of injuries in terms of volume is nothing that the team hasn’t seen before, the frequency and positions affected are concerning.
Below is the list of current injuries that the Bills are currently dealing with and it gets longer every day.
Normally articles at Banged Up Bills are not done back-to-back with this level of detail, but the amount of information to come out today warranted a significant update. Read for all the latest updates as of Monday evening along with analysis.
Injury Updates
Offense
TE Quintin Morris (Shoulder)
Another injury that I initially underestimated, Morris is now week-to-week with a shoulder injury after being ruled out during halftime of Saturday’s game. The initial thought was that he suffered an AC joint sprain that he continued to play through, but with the severity increased, this forced a rewatch of the tape.
A closer look found a more likely instance for a more severe injury such as a labrum tear when Morris fell in the end zone right before halftime. He began to fall with his arm outstretched before bringing it in and landing on his elbow. This force along with the position of the elbow could have forced the humeral head up, tearing the labrum.
If he did indeed tear the labrum, he could possibly return with a harness and play through the injury, but there would still be significant concerns with his ability to block and catch the ball in traffic. He would be at a much higher risk of further damage to the labrum with subluxations and dislocations, leading to an abbreviated exit. He may be more of a liability than help considering his primary role would be blocking as TE3.
A return this season wouldn’t be impossible if he underwent surgery, but it would be a tight timeline given the circumstances. We saw OT Spencer Brown cleared and returned to full play in roughly six months from his labrum tear, but this would require a deep playoff run. This will require more information in the coming days as the team is also undergoing further evaluations on Morris with a decision expected soon.
QB Mitch Trubisky (Left Knee)
A surprising development following Tuesday’s press conference was that Mitch Trubisky’s left knee injury is more serious than originally thought. He has been deemed week-to-week with a knee sprain. Looking back at the play, he was hit from the outside of his knee which caused a valgus stress to the knee which forced the leg inward, placing stress on the MCL.
This was one injury that appeared way less severe than originally thought considering how he came down and then finished out the series, playing four more snaps.
The week-to-week designation indicates that this is at least a Grade 2, even potentially a Grade 3. Most MCL sprains do not require surgery but in some cases, they do if conservative treatment fails. The team has several options including placing Trubisky as an IR designated to return, moving him to the active roster and then putting him on IR, injury settlement and signing him back later, or just IR now and ending his season. The first two options appear to be the best scenarios as this allows him to return in a shorter time frame.
Regardless of whether he has surgery or not, there is no statistical difference in terms of availability or production regarding non-operative vs operative outcomes. So we should get pre-injury Trubisky back eventually. However, a trip to short-term IR to miss at least four games appears likely for him as he rehabs back fully.
To hold down the fort, the Bills signed QB Anthony Brown.
OT Travis Clayton (Right Shoulder)
Clayton has been out since July 30 after showing up to practice with a shoulder brace suggesting the injury dates back to July 26. He has not practiced since then and I do not expect him to based on what we’ve seen so far. Considering the timeline, he may also be a candidate for surgery.
WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (Neck)
The one injury that required the trainers to come on the field on Saturday was when MVS went down with a neck injury courtesy of a questionably late hit as seen below.
MVS was in obvious discomfort as the training staff assessed his neck and at one point considered bringing out the backboard as part of the Canadian C-Spine rules.
Fortunately, he did not require the backboard but did require assistance to walk off the field. Looking at the video closer, the hit came to the right side of his helmet which snapped the head left, suggesting at least a stinger, if not more of a whiplash injury. There was also a hyperextension component to the injury when it snapped back, further confirming the possibility of the whiplash injury.
On Sunday, Tom Pelissero announced that MVS suffered a neck sprain with negative X-rays.
Like many others, MVS is deemed week-to-week with a neck sprain, not an ideal situation for a veteran fighting for a roster spot. Looking at hyperextension injuries of the neck, fractures have already been ruled out, but considering this is a neck sprain, that implies that ligaments are involved. When a hyperextension injury occurs, the anterior longitudinal ligament or ALL can be damaged as seen below.
Other structures potentially damaged include the annulus fibrosus or the outside portion of an intervertebral disc or facet capsular ligaments could be in play.
For an athlete to return safely to the field of play, they should be pain-free, have full range of motion, full strength, and no evidence of neurologic injury. However, if after a time period of rest and rehab MVS shows ligamentous instability from his sprain or symptomatic disc herniation, then he could be seeing a situation not unlike Micah Hyde’s from 2022. While this is obviously concerning, this is also considering the worst-case scenario given the current timeline we have and how the injury occurred.
It’s difficult to identify a timeline given what we have right now, Week 1 and beyond may be in question until more information is provided. A short-term IR stint would not be out of the question in this case.
WR Lawrence Keys (Foot)
Keys suffered a foot injury during a one-on-one drill on Tuesday, missing both Thursday’s practice and the preseason game. According to Alex Brasky of The Batavia Daily News, on his podcast linked below during our conversation Keys fell down out of the air and the defender landed on his foot. They were checking his foot out which based on the possible mechanism of injury, doesn’t sound promising. We may see him involved in a roster transaction here soon.
Update: Keys has been waived/injured. He will revert to injured reserve and either spend the season on IR or receive an injury settlement.
WR Curtis Samuel (Turf Toe)
One of the more surprising injuries to come out of Monday’s injury press conference is the news that Curtis Samuel is once again dealing with an injury.
Turf toe has claimed its latest victim with Samuel appearing to have been injured during Monday’s practice. It’s possible that he suffered the injury against the Chicago Bears during the first preseason game, but I would have expected him to sit out practice immediately afterward. This is the same injury that led to Chase Claypool’s injury settlement last week.
A turf toe injury occurs when the great toe is sprained. This is the result of the toe getting hyperextended due to the foot bending too far forward. This happens when pushing off during sprinting or if the foot is on the ground with the toe extended and another player falls on the foot.
Turf toe typically becomes chronic injuries unless proper rest & rehab is performed, roughly 4-6 weeks, but during the middle of a football season, it’s hard to take enough time off to get fully healthy.
Considering the team has three weeks until the first game, he may avoid missing time, but it will be close. Having sat out last week will have given him nearly a month to mostly recover. However, when he does return, he may still deal with some lingering issues and play with a stiff sole shoe and taping the toe for support to avoid aggravating the area. Watch his participation levels closely.
The issue why it lingers so much is when you sprint, you push off the balls of the feet, that promotes toe extension. Add an already loose area in there, you have less leverage than you once did and it continues to aggravate the area. This is crucial for speed positions such as wide receivers. Here is some additional context on turf toes regarding NFL wide receivers.
Former Bills running back Zach Moss missed three games in 2020 after a turf toe injury in Week 2. This at least gives some context how long he may miss based on past precedent with skill positions.
It’s possible that Samuel suffered a turf toe injury last year with Washington midway through the season. His stat line before and after the injury tells a story regarding his production.
Defense
LB Baylon Spector (Right Calf)
Spector sat out Thursday with a right calf injury potentially sustained during Tuesday’s practice. This is yet another issue for Spector that keeps him out of key reps at the linebacker position. He is expected to miss about a week per Sean McDermott.
He is now week-to-week which suggests he may have had a setback with his rehab, putting Week 1 in doubt. The average time missed due to a calf injury is 17 days which puts him right at Week 1.
S Damar Hamlin (Left Hamstring)
Hamlin suffered a left hamstring strain in the Thursday joint practice as he was observed with a wrap on his left thigh. He noted it was something minor but now is week-to-week.
The team is more cautious in the preseason holding players out for closer to three weeks which is about the time until the first regular season game.
S Mike Edwards (Right Hamstring)
Edwards is set to return in individual drills this week after missing the last three weeks due to a hamstring strain. This is welcomed news after all the injuries this preseason. Hopefully, he can ramp up without setbacks and potentially be ready in Week 1.
LB Matt Milano (Left Bicep)
To get the full details on Milano, click the link below.
S Cole Bishop (Left Shoulder)
Bishop is slated to return to individual drills after suffering a left shoulder injury on July 30. The belief is that he had a non-displaced scapular fracture. He’ll be three weeks removed from the initial injury which indicates that he is healing at a rate that the training staff is happy with. He will need to get the conditioning back and make sure that the bone is healed before initiating contact.
To read more on the original injury, click below.
LB Nicholas Morrow (Core muscle/groin)
Morrow is set to return to practice following his injury on August 2 during the return of the Blue and Red. Missing just over two weeks of the injury as he slowly works back. While his return isn’t all that surprising, the use of core muscle the entire time suggests that he does have a tear in the area which could require surgery.
It is possible to play through this injury though he will be lacking a lot of lateral mobility and explosion. At this point in the game, that may be better than what we have available.
DE Casey Toohill (Groin)
Toohill has been out since August 8 with a groin designation and is scheduled to come back after two weeks off. While the injury has not done him any favors in making the team, if he can produce in the final preseason game, he may find a home elsewhere in the league or on the Bills practice squad.
DT Austin Johnson (Calf)
Johnson saw 11 total snaps on Saturday (10 defense, 1 special teams) and saw his night end early due to a calf injury early in the second quarter.
By video, it looks as though he tweaked his left calf as he sprinted to the sidelines during his first play. It’s more noticeable as he trots back to the center of the field. Considering he played through the remainder of his snaps, his injury may have been more precautionary. His injury update came at halftime which has me believe they assessed him at halftime and kept him out to be safe. He will be limited this week and slowly work back in barring setbacks.
DE Javon Solomon (Calf)
Solomon was ruled out with a calf injury while trying to chase down Steelers QB Justin Fields on Saturday night.
In the second video, you can see Solomon either trying to dive or feeling the effect of his calf strain in the right leg which forces him to the ground. Trainers did not need to go out and assess him, but he was later ruled out once he returned to the sidelines. Considering he will be limited in practice this week, this is one of the best possible outcomes.
Final Thoughts
I wasn’t expecting to do an article of this magnitude. But considering the amount of information presented during Monday’s press conference, trying to piece together information from multiple sources would prove to be difficult. This at least helps consolidate all the information available in an easy-to-reference manner.
This has been a brutal preseason, but the hope is that the injuries during the regular season tail off as the Bills slowly return players from their various injuries. Make sure to check back often for the latest injury information only at Banged Up Bills.
Top Photo Credit: Buffalo Bills
