The Buffalo Bills have completed roster cut downs and set their first 53 man roster on Tuesday and set their practice squad on Wednesday. Several moves have been made for suspensions and injuries as the Bills prepare for Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens.
Despite all the cuts, there are still several injuries worth monitoring especially as Week 1 nears.
Read below for the full breakdown on every injury & analysis.
Injury Updates
CB Tre’Davious White (Lower Body/Lower Leg)
Little new information is available for White over a week after he exited practice on August 21 for further evaluation.
The only information that we have gotten is that this appeared to be a right side injury according to Matt Parrino of Syracuse.com on his podcast. He hopped to the side with assistance from Mitch Trubisky, punched the wall, and then was able to walk to the stadium locker rooms. He then exited and hopped in a cart for further evaluation to the field house according to Sal Capaccio of WGR550.
This has been described at first as a lower body and then as a lower leg by GM Brandon Beane which narrows it down somewhat. This could be a toe, foot, ankle, calf, peroneals, or knee. Without seeing how he went down, this really limits what it could be with so many options.
According to Nick Sabato of The Niagara Gazette and Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic, both saw him in the locker room on August 27 and he was walking around under his own and without a limp. Finally, we know this isn’t a season-ending injury or something that needed injured reserve.
We will get clarification next Wednesday on September 3 as to the exact body part when the first injury report comes out.
CB Christian Benford (Undisclosed)
Benford missed practice on August 27 with an undisclosed issue after exiting practice on August 21, later telling reporters that he needed “rest”.
He was out at practice working out off to the side with no visible tape, bracing, or any notable differences.
This could be a concussion but if this was the case, he wouldn’t have spoken to reporters after if he was in concussion protocol. He could have developed one later but I don’t believe this to be the case right now. We may get more information if he is on the injury report next week but until then, we are left speculating.
WR Curtis Samuel (Undisclosed)
Samuel was not out at practice on August 27 for undisclosed reasons. He missed the final preseason game with an illness after returning the prior week from a hamstring issue.
CB Jordan Hancock (Stinger)
Hancock was out on the practice field Wednesday with a red non-contact jersey as he worked through a stinger due to Nick Sabato of The Niagara Gazette. According to Sabato, he has dealt with stingers dating back to college which was not a documented issue that I could find.
Should he have issues in the future, we know the exact reason. He did have his right shoulder taped up prior to the Buccaneers game suggesting an AC joint sprain but this could have been preventative as noted below in this IG reel.
WR Khalil Shakir (Right High-Ankle Sprain)
Shakir was in full pads on Wednesday and began working through cutting and running drills as noted below. Despite not going full speed, it was positive to see Shakir cutting on the ankle and moving around. He does have the ankle heavily taped but the left ankle was also taped up as noted in the video.
He appears getting close to ready to play and the biggest concern will be his cutting movements, specifically to his right with stress the ankle joint with the same motion that caused the high-ankle sprain, dorsiflexion and eversion.
He may not be 100 percent by Week 1, but close enough that he can avoid this lingering deep into the season.
Activated from PUP
OL Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (Right Calf)
SVPG was a surprise activation to the roster after missing the entire camp due to a calf strain prior to training camp starting. Prior to his activation, the latest a player had been activated from PUP or NFI was August 21 back in 2016.
He was off to the side on Wednesday after roster cut downs on the bike as he continued to work back into playing shape. I could see a scenario where he is inactive the first week or two while he ramps back up into football shape.
Injured Reserve: Designated to Return
OL Tylan Grable (Concussion)
Grable is still working back from a concussion sustained on August 6 in practice. He got as far as wearing a red non-contact jersey in practice on August 19 before possibly having a setback and going on injured reserve to continue his recovery. This is his first documented concussion that I have found.
I don’t believe his concussion is so severe that it needed an extra four weeks, rather the Bills saw this as an opportunity to stash a player in the event injuries occur. This allows Grable to get back into football shape from a cardiovascular standpoint and be ready since he missed so much of training camp.
He wasn’t able to do this while in the concussion protocol due to how exertion influenced his symptoms with increases in blood pressure and heart rate. Once he is cleared, then he can really ramp up and take the time to be fully ready.
CB Maxwell Hairston (Right Knee LCL Sprain)
The Bills are playing the long game and placed Maxwell Hairston on injured reserve and missing at least the first four games. They are giving him the opportunity to get that much further healed and according to the Bills website, they want to get him back into a football mindset.
The football mindset tells me that he isn’t ready from a knowledge perspective rather than healing. This is why I thought he wouldn’t play Week 1, not necessarily because of the knee. Could he play? Very possible but if he doesn’t know what to do then this could affect his confidence and this could lead to him thinking too much and turn into a Kaiir Elam situation. This could also lead to an increased risk of injury due to reacting and not having the footwork down or having to compensate in other ways.
While I was hoping that he would avoid IR so that he could begin ramping up with practice, this isn’t surprising. I also believe that the Cole Bishop situation last year where he missed extended time due to his scapular fracture likely played into this decision. Bishop was behind once he stepped on the field and was never quite where they wanted him to be all season.
It’s better for Hairston to not push the rehab and push to be out there. The research shows that he could have potentially played, but every athlete is still a case-by-case basis and there may be additional damage that they aren’t revealing. Being on IR prevents him from practicing, but after Week 4, he can practice and use the three-week window to ramp up. At that rate with the bye week in Week 7, I would expect Hairston to return in Week 8.
To read more about the injury, click below.
Injured Reserve: Season
WR Kaden Prather (Left Hamstring)
CB Te’Cory Couch (Hamstring)
DE Justin Hollins (Undisclosed)
Prather, Couch, and Hollins will spend the entire season on injured reserve with their respective injuries.
Injury Settlements
WR Darrynton Evans (Hamstring)
S Wande Owens (Undisclosed)
WR Grant Dubose (Right Collarbone)
Dubose appeared to be a collarbone fracture as reporters noted that he underwent surgery last week.
Bills Transactions
DT Jordan Phillips
S Jordan Poyer
S Sam Franklin Jr
DE Andre Jones
CB Jalen Kimber
Final Thoughts
The Bills are working through plenty of injuries but they are certainly improving. The secondary is a question mark right now but we will get more clarity next Wednesday.
Looking back, the Bills are still in better position than they were at this point last season prior to Week 1. The Bills have several days off over Labor Day weekend for some final R&R before they return to practice on Wednesday as they prepare for Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens.
Until then, stay tuned for the latest Bills injury information.
Top Photo Credit: Mark Konezny- USA Today Sports
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