The Banged Up Bills continue to get through training camp, hoping to have enough players to practice every day. The coaching staff has altered practices in order to reduce the incidence of injuries, but every day, a new injury crops up.
The Bills are having to move forward with the players they have available as they prepare for the New York Giants on Saturday in their first preseason game. While injuries are part of football, the Bills are at a steady pace of injuries as compared to last year. Read further for a detailed breakdown of all the injuries coming out of training camp following the third week.
New Injuries
OL Tylan Grable (Concussion)
Grable left practice early for an undisclosed reason on August 6 and did not return. On August 7, he was placed in the concussion protocol.
It remains to be seen how long he will be out as he will have to pass through the five-stage concussion protocol in order to be cleared. Ideally he is cleared sometime next week but every concussion is different.
CB Dorian Strong (Undisclosed)
Strong missed practice Thursday with an undisclosed issue.
TE Dalton Kincaid (Left Ankle)
Kincaid was briefly treated by athletic trainers Thursday having his left ankle taped up before quickly returning to practice. It’s not clear how he injured the ankle, but this appears to be no more than an ankle tweak that needed extra support.
This is the same side that he had banged his knee up on earlier in camp.
TE Jackson Hawes (Undisclosed)
Hawes left practice on August 4 towards the end for an undisclosed injury according to Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. He returned to practice on August 6 without any update.
Has been dealing with a left lower leg issue since July 24, wearing a sleeve on the area and a left wrist issue since July 27 using tape and a brace for support.
S Taylor Rapp (Right Knee)
Rapp missed practice on August 3rd as he missed with a right knee injury. There were not any reports during Friday’s scrimmage that he was dealing with any injury. He dealt with a right knee injury during training camp in 2022 with the Rams and also suffered an MCL sprain during the season.
He was seen on the bike with a sleeve on his right leg which is a change from the left leg sleeve he normally wears.
His absence was initially short-lived and he was able to return to practice on August 4. Unfortunately, he missed practice on Thursday and was expected to be out for the next week, leaving his ability to see any action in games at best, questionable.
WR Joshua Palmer (Groin)
Palmer has been on a mini roller coaster the last few days as he is working through a groin strain. He missed most of practice Thursday before practicing in full on August 1st at the stadium scrimmage. He then missed August 3rd practice before returning on August 4th.
This injury is notable as he dealt with a lower body injury during Phase 3 OTA’s as seen below. He has still been one of the healthier receivers this preseason but he has had ill-timed injuries throughout his career that have held back his true potential. This may be something that occasionally crops up over the next few weeks.
He was able to practice all week after missing Sunday’s practice which suggests his absence was more precautionary.
WR Khalil Shakir (Right High-Ankle Sprain)
During a routine run play on August 1, Shakir was rolled up on and was forced to the sidelines for further examination. Trainers were looking at his right ankle before he walked to the tunnel with a limp.
On Sunday, it was announced that Shakir is dealing with a high-ankle sprain, the same injury and side that he dealt with in Week 4 last season. Despite only missing one game, he was still limited to the following game and was affected by it over the next few weeks.
Reports indicate that he will be out for the next four-to-five weeks which is conveniently the amount of time until Week 1. This signifies that the team will not push to have him back quickly and he will spend the preseason rehabbing.
Considering he has the opportunity to actually rehab this injury versus playing through it, I have greater confidence he will be healthier heading into the season. This will be an injury to continue to monitor over the coming weeks.
He was observed on the bike and doing weight bearing drills on Wednesday indicating that he is moving in the right direction but that they will take his rehab slowly.
LB Shaq Thompson (Hamstring)
Thompson pulled up during August 1st practice and left with a trainer with an undisclosed injury during the stadium scrimmage.
On Sunday, it was reported he’s dealing with a hamstring strain. It’s not clear whether this is the same or opposite side but considering he is coming off the Achilles tear on the left side, that may be the side affected.
He was unable to practice all week but factoring in how long every player has been missing, I would hope Thompson is back soon.
FB Reggie Gilliam (Groin)
Gilliam missed the August 3rd practice with a groin designation and was seen on the bike working out. It’s not clear when the injury occurred as there were no reports coming out of Friday’s practice.
His absence was brief when he returned the following day. This is not the first time he has had a groin injury as he had one back in 2023 early during camp and missed five practices.
RB Frank Gore Jr (Right Knee)
Gore went down during practice on Sunday and required attention from the athletic trainers. Fortunately, this appeared to be a minor injury as he was able to return the following day with a sleeve on his right knee.
CB Cam Lewis (Right Shoulder/Arm)
Towards the end of practice, Lewis went down with a right shoulder injury that required attention on August 3rd.
The exact details of the injury were not known but he returned to practice the following day with a harness to protect the area.
DT Deone Walker (Illness)
Walker missed August 4th practice with an illness.
Injury Updates
WR Curtis Samuel (Left Hamstring)
Samuel is yet again missing time after tweaking his hamstring back on July 25. He began missing practice on July 27 and has been out since then. Brandon Beane noted that he would eventually get back.
He has had plenty of hamstring injuries throughout his career and this is the latest one. Samuel is hyper aware of his injury issues, but he continues to show why he wasn’t worth the contract given last year. On Thursday, he was seen working out off to the side with the hopes that he returns to practice.
WR Kaden Prather (Left Hamstring)
Prather suffered a left hamstring strain during practice on July 27 and has been rehabbing since then. Initial reports stated that he grabbed the upper portion of his hamstring which suggests that this was a proximal hamstring strain.
On Thursday, he was off to the side ramping up his workload though with no discernible timeline to return.
K Tyler Bass (Pelvis Soreness)
Bass continues to miss practice or intermittently kick as he deals with pelvic soreness. Based on the specific wording, this eliminates a lot of possibilities but this could be osteitis pubis, an inflammation of the symphysis pubis that connects the pelvic bones together.
This is what I said about the injury last week:
This is a condition where there is inflammation between your left and right pubic bones, which is known as the pubic symphysis, from overuse, causing microtrauma.
This is common in individuals using their hips, pelvis, and groin, which would be exactly what Bass has been doing. This is seen often in pregnancy but also in soccer, hockey, basketball, etc. Given his positional demands, kicking is a high stressor to this area. If this is what Bass is dealing with, he would be experiencing groin or lower abdominal pain or aching throb, pain in the inner thigh, tightness within the pelvis, swelling, or genital pain.
Most cases respond conservatively with therapy and modalities, along with the possibility of injections. In a study in elite athletes, they had 42 cases dealing with this condition and found 71.4 percent of cases had Stage I Osteitis Pubis; there are four stages with Stage I dealing with unilateral pain while Stage 2-4 have bilateral symptoms. Of those in the study with Stage I, most returned within three weeks.
Based on that information, he may be out one more week before we see him return. Even when he does return, I am concerned about this lingering throughout the season.
On Thursday, the Bills tried out two kickers in the event that Bass is not ready by as soon as this weekend.
OL Alec Anderson (Left Knee Surgery)
Anderson is still working back from his left knee scope from July 30 after leaving practice July 28. This was likely a clean out or meniscus trim. It’s possible he had been dealing with this since late May once he began wearing a sleeve on the area. He has been termed week-to-week and will work to be ready for Week 1.
He has been seen off to the side rehabbing as he nears a return.
S Cole Bishop (Left Quad)
Bishop is still rehabbing back from a left quadriceps injury sustained on July 29. It’s not clear how he injured the area which means a timeline is difficult to establish. He has been observed working out to the side with this injury appearing to be more of a strain.
Based on the other timelines we’ve seen, I am anticipating that he returns next week.
CB Maxwell Hairston (Right Knee LCL Sprain)
Not much is new regarding Hairston as he recovers from his LCL sprain suffered on July 29. He has been deemed week-to-week which is no surprise.
I do not expect to see him doing any notable football activities until the end of the month at the earliest. To read more about his injury, click here.
OT Spencer Brown (Back)
Brown returned to practice early in the week as he slowly ramped up his workload since he was activated from PUP on July 31. He spoke with the media on August 6 and discussed his back injury. He said it was related to his microdiscectomy in 2022 and that he has had flare ups since then.
He noted how he was trying a new lift and basically overdid it. He did this the week before camp which meant they had him do his regular exercise program and kept him on the shelf for two weeks.
Returned to Practice
LB Terrel Bernard (Right Hamstring)
Bernard returned to practice on August 3rd, missing one week of practice dating back to July 27 due to a hamstring strain. It’s not clear which side he injured but it was reported that he injured the other side after tweaking a hamstring during his rookie year in the preseason.
On an Instagram post, it’s observed that he is dealing with a right hamstring strain based on the tape placement peeking out from under the compression sleeve.
LB Dorian Williams (Right Calf)
Williams continues to work off to the side rehabbing as he looks to return from his calf strain suffered on July 24. He has been out of the boot since July 28 as well. This timeline is expected for him to be out this long but the hope is that he fully heals so the issue does not linger.
He finally returned on August 6 and got some limited work in but was sporting a sleeve on his right calf, brace on his left elbow and knee. The braces were from previous injuries in 2024 that he was wearing early in camp before his calf strain.
He also confirmed with Nick Sabato that he did not undergo any surgeries this offseason which means his braces are to protect him from last season’s injuries.
Right now, he is looking like he is held together with duct tape with two hinge braces and tape on both calves.
Physically Unable to Perform
OL Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (Calf)
SVPG continues to miss practices after starting training camp on the PUP list due to a calf injury. Sean McDermott noted that he will still require more time off and may be available for the third preseason game.
Based on that knowledge, I would expect SVPG to be activated by early next week following the first preseason game. This could change if he has setbacks but historically, mid-August is the cut off time for someone to be activated to the roster or they stay on PUP until the regular season. The Bills should not push him to return until the muscle is truly ready which means his status is still fluid despite the updates.
New Signings
For full info, click below.
OL Dan Feeney
DE Justin Hollins
LB Jimmy Ciarlo
Releases
DE Kameron Cline
OL Rush Reimer
LB Baylon Spector (Calf)
Another day, another injury for Spector. He is once again dealing with a calf strain after coming up limping during a 11-on-11 drill. He has been wearing leggings during camp to cover his calves which have been taped up as seen in the pictures below.
He dealt with a right calf strain all last year which also affected his left calf at times he said in an interview. It’s not clear which side is affected but Spector has continually had soft tissue issues throughout his NFL career and this is the latest.
On Wednesday, he was waived/injured. Thursday, he reverted to injured reserve. This means he will either revert to injured reserve for the season or he will be released with an injury settlement.
Final Thoughts
The Bills are injured. That is a fact.
Many of these injuries are on the minimal side and are cautious sitting out so the injuries do not linger. The Bills have avoided any of the major season-ending injuries that have plagued other teams around the NFL so far this camp.
Last year at this time, they had 23 players that had some type of injury, missed time, or trainer attention. This year through two weeks, we are at 36 different players that are dealing with injury that required missed time or trainer. That is a 56 percent increase from last year at this time.
That is far from ideal but that is the reality of the situation. Many of the injuries are on the minor side that wouldn’t raise any red flags during the regular season, but the biggest issue right now is missed reps for install.
They have their first preseason game on Saturday and the hope is that there are minimal issues.
Stay tuned for the latest Bills injury news here and on X @BangedUpBills.
Top Photo Credit: Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
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