The Buffalo Bills made a move on Friday afternoon, claiming recently waived DT Casey Rogers, formerly of the New York Giants.
Rogers comes to Buffalo after one season with the New York Giants after signing as a UDFA last season. He saw some game action late last season after being signed to the practice squad in December. While his playing time is limited, the Bills either see a developmental opportunity or they know they need to fortify the defensive line as much as possible during this offseason.
Below is Casey Rogers publicly reported injury history and analysis.
Injury History
College
2018 Nebraska
Shoulder injury, missed entire season.
Rogers suffered a shoulder injury at some point early in preseason camp that was severe enough for him to redshirt. There are no additional details on the extent of the injury or whether surgery was involved.
2019 Nebraska
No publicly reported injuries.
2020 Nebraska
No publicly reported injuries.
2021 Nebraska
Left knee injury, preseason, missed 5 games.
Rogers suffered a left knee injury two weeks prior to the season starting which forced him to miss the first five games of the season. He managed to return to play but aggravated the knee in the final game on the on the final series against Iowa. He later underwent arthroscopic surgery in December 2021 to repair a knee ligament. As a result of the surgery, he missed spring practices.
2022 Oregon
No publicly reported injuries.
2023 Oregon
No publicly reported injuries.
NFL
2024 New York Giants
No publicly reported injuries.
Buffalo Bills Injury Analysis
Regrettably, there is minimal information regarding Rogers’ injury history with his only known issues occurring during his time at Nebraska.
There is little to no information regarding his shoulder injury but searches do not show him wearing a brace or harness. There is also not a consistent pattern of repeated injuries with the shoulder which does not indicate a specific issue.
As for his knee, he required surgery to repair a torn ligament. Knowing the ligaments of the knee include the ACL, PCL, LCL, and MCL, this limits the possibilities. Several clues were provided in the various articles which help narrow this down. He injured the knee in the preseason, played through the season and re-injured it against Iowa which was the season finale. This alone rules out an ACL as this is an immediate surgery with a 9-12 month recovery.
This likely also ruled out an LCL surgery as that carries a 6-9 month recovery and isolated LCL tears are rather rare. PCL tear is an option as you can play on the injury but surgery is also often not needed and is also a 6-9 month recovery.
This leaves the possibility of an MCL repair or a MPFL repair. Both injuries can be caused by a direct blow or a twisting/pivoting motion. The MCL is the most commonly injured ligament in the knee and runs on the inside portion of the knee. Oftentimes, it doesn’t require surgery but if he did, it’s possible he had the ligament tightened up or reinforced with an internal brace, this carries a shorter time frame of less than six months.
The other possibility is the MPFL or medial patellofemoral ligament repair. This is the ligament that helps stabilize the patella and helps prevent it from dislocating. This can be torn due to a bad knee sprain in where the patella either partially or fully dislocates. This is an injury that can be played through with a supportive brace and then fixed at the end of the season as well. This also carries a shorter rehab timeline.
Whatever the surgery was, he was forced to miss spring practice while he rehabbed but was able to return for the 2022 season. He did have to wear a hinged knee brace while he played through the knee injury in 2021 and appeared to wear a compression sleeve in 2022. He has also managed to stay off the injury report the last few seasons which is promising.
Final Thoughts
To see Rogers work through several injuries isn’t all that concerning, but the types of injuries can impact someone long term. The shoulder injury doesn’t have much information and likely has been a nonfactor for several years. His left knee looks as though it is back to normal function indicating that this may not be a chronic issue.
Rogers ability to make the Bills roster will come down to talent and his ability to avoid injury. Nothing in his injury history suggests that he should have anything that could affect his chances or soft tissue issues which is promising for his outlook.
I would like to wish Casey Rogers a warm welcome to the city of Buffalo and to remain healthy this season.
Top Photo Credit: USA Today
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