Dealing with depth issues all across the roster, the Buffalo Bills signed DE Justin Hollins on Tuesday. Hollins comes in to provide a healthy body as injuries continue to mount, leaving the Bills short on available practice players.
Hollins comes to the Bills after stops with the Broncos, Rams, Packers, Giants, Chargers, and Commanders. Read more for a detailed injury breakdown and analysis.
Injury History
2019 Denver Broncos
Knee injury, Week 5, missed 0 games.
Hollins initially injured his knee in the first half of Week 5 against the Los Angeles Chargers. He was forced to leave the game and was deemed week-to-week. Despite the designation, he did not miss any games and was only questionable for Week 8.
Hamstring strain, Week 11, missed 1 game.
2020 Los Angeles Rams
COVID, Week 15, missed 0 games.
Hollins was placed on the COVID Reserve list the Thursday prior to Week 15 but was cleared before Sunday.
2021 Rams
Right Pectoral tear, Week 3, missed 9 games.
Hollins suffered a partially torn right pectoral muscle against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and elected to undergo surgery.
2022 Rams/Green Bay Packers
No publicly reported injuries.
2023 Packers/New York Giants/Los Angeles Chargers
Knee injury, Week 14, missed 0 games.
Shoulder injury, Week 18, missed 1 game, went to IR.
2024 Washington Commanders
No publicly reported injuries.
Buffalo Bills Injury Analysis
Hollins has seen plenty of snaps since 2019 as a depth defensive end and on special teams for a variety of teams. He has also seen plenty of postseason contests with six, including four with the Rams as they won the Super Bowl in 2022.
Looking at his injury history, there aren’t really any concerns. The most notable injury was his pectoral tear but those historically do well returning from surgery and see no decline in performance. We’ve seen this with non-surgical cases with Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard along with surgery in Jon Feliciano.
Looking at the other injuries, his shoulder injury placed him on IR because the Chargers were 5-12 that season. His knee injuries didn’t force him to miss anytime either. This is a player who has the ability to step into a defense and be effective but also play on special teams.
This is another situation where his talent and not his health will dictate whether he sticks with the Bills.
I would like to welcome Justin Hollins to Buffalo and to remain healthy this season.
Top Photo Credit: Hogs Haven
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