The Buffalo Bills just finished up their fourth week of training camp as they prepare to face the Chicago Bears on Sunday night. The theme of this year’s preseason is injuries with the Bills with 47 different players dealing with some type of injury that has required the intervention of an athletic trainer.
Some have been assessed and released back to playing quickly. Some have missed several days while others have missed weeks. For context, the Bills had 47 players suffer an injury last preseason and that was a marked increase from 2023. The Bills still have two weeks and two preseason games to play which will most certainly increase the final tally.
Read below for all the latest injury information and analysis from the last week.
New Injuries
OT Dion Dawkins (Back)
Dawkins left practice on August 12 with athletic trainers and did not return for the rest of the day or on August 13. He was coy with the media and at one point danced away when he asked if he was alright.
On August 13, he missed practice and Sal Capaccio of WGR550 revealed that Dawkins aggravated a back injury.
It’s not clear when Dawkins suffered his original injury but Dawkins is a player who has not missed much time due to injury or at all throughout his career. He also has never been on the injury report due to a back designation before. Fortunately, he was able to return to practice on August 15 without any noticeable limitations.
WR Joshua Palmer (Left Leg)
Palmer is still working through a lower body injury as evident with a sleeve on his left leg noted below. He was originally dealing with a groin injury originally suffered on July 31 when he was off to the side with athletic trainers testing out his groin.
On August 13, he didn’t miss a rep during practice but was laboring through practice with reports indicating he wasn’t 100 percent. In the video below, he’s trying to work through something but the left leg isn’t cooperating. It’s not clear if this is still his groin or another lower leg muscle.
WR Elijah Moore (Undisclosed)
Moore began dealing with left leg soreness back on July 27 and missed one practice before returning on July 29 to rehab off to the side. Specifically, he was dealing with left calf soreness as he had tape on the area.
On August 13, he missed practice with an undisclosed issue. On August 15, he was able to return to practice.
WR Tyrell Shavers (Undisclosed)
Shavers missed practice on August 13 with an undisclosed injury. He did miss two practices while he rehabbed but it’s unlikely that the injury kept him out of practice Wednesday.
He was able to return to joint practices Friday with the Bears.
DB Cam Lewis (Calf)
Lewis sat out of practice on August 13 with a calf injury as confirmed by Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. He has dealt with several injuries this camp including a right calf strain dating back to OTAs and a right arm/shoulder injury on August 3. He has been wearing a sleeve on his right calf and at one point had a harness on his right shoulder.
This latest calf injury is likely an aggravation of the prior right calf injury but we do not have confirmation of the side. Lewis has had a strong camp but is far from a lock to make the roster. It remains to be seen how quickly he is able to return.
C Kendrick Green (Right Elbow)
Green briefly left practice on August 13 when he had his right elbow hit, causing a lot of pain and assessment by athletic trainers.
Fortunately he was able to return quickly with a brace. This could have been something as simple as hitting his funny bone which required padding to protect the area. Things further supported by the wrap he has on his elbow on August 15.
WR KJ Hamler (Undisclosed)
Hamler suffered an undisclosed injury on August 12 when he landed hard trying to make a catch on the right sideline. He left practice early that day but returned to practice the following day.
DT Larry Ogunjobi (Foot)
Ogunjobi was limited on August 15 during joint practices but no additional details on the extent of his issue is available.
CB Te’Cory Couch (Hamstring)
Couch exited joint practices on August 15 following a punt return and into the field house for further evaluation. It was later announced that he suffered a hamstring strain.
I expect him to be out the next week with a small chance to play in the final preseason game to make the roster. He’s been having a solid camp and the Bills may just want to sneak him to the practice squad instead of giving him an injury settlement.
RB Darrynton Evans (Hamstring)
Evans went down with a hamstring injury late in joint practices on August 15, making the second year in a row that he’s been laid up with a hamstring strain in the preseason.
He could be another IR to return candidate like he was last year but we will see how things look over the next week.
Returned To Practice
S Darrick Forrest (Ankle)
Forrest missed practice on August 12 due to an ankle injury during the first preseason game. He did not require medical attention during the game but he was able to return to practice on August 13.
S Taylor Rapp (Right Knee)
Rapp has been battling a right knee injury dating back to August 3. He was able to return to practice the following day on August 4 before missing August 6 with the team announcing he would be out the next week.
He was able to return to practice in full on August 14 without any bracing or sleeves on the right leg. He appears to be moving around well, there isn’t any additional information available currently as to the exact issue with his knee. He had a pretty significant MCL sprain back in 2020 that caused him to miss nine games, but it’s not clear if this was the same knee.
S Cole Bishop (Left Quad)
Bishop is finally returning to practice after originally exiting on July 29 with the quad injury. He appears to be moving well and will likely suit up this weekend against the Chicago Bears, but the time missed has been harmful to his development.
Had Bishop been a veteran, a two week absence wouldn’t be as big of an issue, but he missed time in the spring time with an undisclosed issue, likely a hip or groin injury. I have to wonder what Bishop is doing outside of the facility taking care of his body. Not all injuries can be prevented, but the spring injuries and now training camp injuries are having a bigger effect on his development.
He gets a pass in 2024 when he injured his shoulder in the preseason, but he needs to find a way to harden his body. Head coach Sean McDermott has called him out in the media, indicating the urgency of Bishop needing to be out there.
WR Kaden Prather (Left Hamstring)
Prather finally returned to practice on August 12 after leaving practice on July 27 pulling up lame and grabbing his upper leg. This timeline continues to suggest this was a proximal hamstring strain which carries a longer timeframe to rehab unlike others we have seen during camp.
He has moved well from what has been observed, but missing over two weeks of practice as a rookie more or less seals his fate. He will likely be cut and brought back to the practice squad where he will continually work to rehab and harden his body to the demands of the NFL.
CB Daequan Hardy (Right Shoulder)
Hardy suffered a right shoulder injury trying to tackle midway through the third quarter of Saturday’s loss to the Giants. He stayed in for two more plays before exiting and going for x-rays.
As a testament to him, he was back at practice on August 12 with a red non-contact jersey on, still fighting for a roster spot. The exact injury isn’t clear but it’s minor enough that Hardy is willing to fight through it. He was limited on August 15 during joint practices with the Bills.
OL Alec Anderson (Left Knee)
Anderson returned to practice on August 12 participating in individual drills as noted below. He was coming off the knee scope on July 30 after tweaking the knee on July 29. Looking back, it’s likely he tweaked the leg during OTAs as he was wearing a black compression sleeve on the area during that time.
He is trending towards being ready for Week 1 after another week of ramping up his activity.
WR Curtis Samuel (Hamstring)
Samuel continues to work through a hamstring strain, potentially a left side one dating back to first missing practice on July 27. This is the latest soft tissue injury for Samuel in his career and he has been a mistake in signing him from day one.
Despite being a veteran who knows the offense, he has never really gotten on the same page with Josh Allen. The training staff is handling his injury with kid gloves as well, giving him extra time to make sure he is truly ready before returning. I have little faith that he will move past this injury and not suffer another one. He has said in the past that he wouldn’t even eat breakfast before practice or games according to Nick Sabato of GNN. Without getting too much into the sciences of it, working on an empty stomach doing high intensity exercise only puts the body into a further state of depletion which could cause injury because the body does not have the necessary fuel needed for said activities.
He has improved in that regard eating more regularly but he needs to find a way to stay healthy this season. If he didn’t have such a big cap hit, the Bills would have likely moved on from him already.
LB Shaq Thompson (Right Hamstring)
Thompson has been working off to the side since exiting the stadium scrimmage on August 1 due to a right hamstring strain. He was spotted on August 15 with a sleeve on his right side indicating the affected side due to that he was wearing a sleeve prior on the left side due to the Achilles.
He’s still limited but making progress to return to the field.
Injury Updates
OL Tylan Grable (Concussion)
Grable has been out with a concussion since leaving practice on August 6. Due to how training camp is set up and practices back in Orchard Park, we have not gotten a good view of what he has been doing. Frankly, we don’t know what stage he is in either.
It’s not uncommon for the team to drag out the concussion rehab during preseason and this is still considered a normal timeline for a player to miss. I am hoping that he is able to return to practice next week but this is a wait-and-see approach.
WR Khalil Shakir (Right High-Ankle Sprain)
Shakir continued to rehab off to the side after getting rolled up on during the stadium scrimmage on August 1. It’s positive to see that he is out of the boot and doing stability and strengthening drills. I personally would like to see how he does running and cutting, but the Bills will not push that until it is necessary.
He won’t have any issues running straight but as soon as he has to cut to his right, that will be the true test of how his ankle is feeling for Week 1. Once he begins to ramp up, we will have a better idea of how he is doing.
CB Maxwell Hairston (Right LCL Sprain)
Hairston has been off the crutches and wearing a hinged knee brace walking around recently indicating that his knee is slowly healing. We have not seen him off to the side rehabbing yet, but he is working on exercises inside the building as he works his way back.
I could see him start to do football activities at the end of August, barring setbacks. It’s been discussed that he could be an IR candidate to start the season. I don’t believe that would be good for his development as he wouldn’t be able to practice with the team and his injury should allow him to return soon. But if the Bills feel he is not mentally ready or worry about risk of further injury, they could place him on IR to free up a roster spot.
K Tyler Bass (Pelvic Soreness)
Bass has been out since July 28 due to pelvic soreness which I believe is osteitis pubis, an inflammation of the pubis symphysis. This is an overuse injury and this is what I have said the last few weeks.
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.
Bass has been out for three weeks come Monday. This would fit the timeline outlined above. We did see the Bills bring in a kicker in Caden Davis while Bass recovers but we may see him exit shortly once they know he is ready to go.
He is expected to return for the preseason finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
PUP
OL Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (Right Calf)
The only updates that we have gotten from the team are that SVPG has a right calf injury as noted in the picture below and that he is still not practicing.
To recap, he suffered this injury just prior to camp and his continued absence implies that this is a high-grade strain. We haven’t seen him do much on the side with rehab and we haven’t seen him really at all even walking around.
He is approaching the theoretical cut off where the Bills need to decide whether he is activated from PUP or starts the season there. Based on the previous return to practice timelines below, he is trending towards PUP.
They could decide to activate him after the Bears game, especially if he continues to do more with rehab, but he’s simply missed too much time to get fully up to speed for the start of the season.
New Signings
CB Tre Herndon
DE Nelson Caesar
TE Matt Sokol
Releases
WR Kelly Akharaiyi
LB Baylon Spector (Calf): Injury Settlement
WR Jalen Virgil (Undisclosed)
Virgil was waived/injured on Thursday after he was seen talking with trainers Wednesday before practice and did not participate.
DE Justin Hollins (Undisclosed)
Hollins missed practice on Wednesday with an undisclosed injury and on Thursday was waived/injured.
Final Thoughts
Some of these injuries are precautionary but plenty of these players have missed real time. These reps matter when it comes to getting ready for the season and players like Bishop, Samuel, SVPG, and others simply are not ready when called upon.
Most of the other players are working their way back to the field and there have not been any season-ending injuries yet. The hope is that the Bills continue to get through the next few weeks of preseason football and the last two games injury free before Week 1.
Make sure to stay tuned for the latest injury updates and for the latest reactions, check out Banged Up Bills on X.
Top Photo Credit: Associated Press
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