Injury Analysis: Buffalo Bills FB Ben VanSumeren

Needing to create competition at the fullback position for training camp, the Buffalo Bills signed FB Ben VanSumeren to a one year deal on Wednesday. 

VanSumeren comes to Buffalo after starting his career in Philadelphia where he has had a unique career. He entered the NFL as a linebacker for the first two seasons playing in 20 games with 2 starts. He then switched to fullback entering the 2025 season but only got to play in one game before he suffered an injury. He has also gotten most of his playing time on special teams which makes him versatile for the Bills. 

Despite the uniqueness and versatility, VanSumeren has had several recent major knee injuries that have affected his young career.

Read below for a full injury history and analysis. 

Injury History

2023 Philadelphia Eagles

No publicly reported injuries. 

2024 Eagles

ACL Tear, Week 13, missed 10 games.

VanSumeren suffered an ACL tear, side not specified, in the Friday practice prior to Week 13 and missed the rest of the season. 

2025 Eagles

Right patellar tendon tear, Week 1, missed 17 games. 

VanSumeren suffered a right patellar tendon tear on the opening kickoff in Week 1, ending his season. Click here to see a clip of the injury.

Buffalo Bills Injury Analysis

VanSumeren has missed 27 games in the last two seasons from his two season ending knee injuries alone. That is some seriously bad luck. Digging into this further, it’s not known which side he suffered the ACL tear on which complicates this discussion slightly. I was not able to find any pictures or video following his surgery or rehab process where there was bracing or any scars to show which side had surgery. 

By now, the casual fan has a general understanding that the ACL recovery takes between 9-12 months and even longer for injuries with additional damage. VanSumeren tore his ACL around Thanksgiving which means he had surgery potentially shortly after or sometime in early December. By the time he was back on the field for Week 1, he was just over nine months removed from his surgery. We know the risk to re-tear an ACL is significantly greater when athletes return sooner than nine months. It’s also surprising that he didn’t start the season on the PUP list then as he was working back. He may have had a stellar recovery and the Eagles got him back out there.

Despite returning from his ACL tear in just over nine months, VanSumeren is still very much at risk to suffer another ACL tear as the rates remain higher over a two-year period compared to players without history of ACL tears. This goes for tearing the same or opposite side. My thought was that he could clear return to sport testing for the Eagles but still wasn’t fully healthy with top end strength or crisp with decelerating/cutting activities quite yet. It simply takes time to re-establish that neuromuscular control of the knee. 

Looking at his more recent injury, patellar tendon tears are some of the most difficult injuries to return from, with 55.4 percent returning to play at all in the NFL. Only 21.4 percent of players return to their prior level of performance within two years of their injury. Furthermore, only 16 percent of players return to play in as many games as they did two years prior. Overall, we see a dip in production with smaller chances to return to pre-injury levels. Re-tear rates are under 10 percent based on the type of repair but can be as low as 1-2 percent with a suture anchor repair. 

VanSumeren changed positions and outside of a few preseason games, we haven’t really seen what he can do at the fullback position. By the time he starts training camp, he will be almost 11 months removed from his patellar tendon tear and roughly 1.5 years removed from his ACL tear. He does have the benefit of dictating the action being a fullback which means he will have more control where he is going versus reacting on playing linebacker. 

I expect him to play special teams which will require more read and react plays that could put him at risk for future injuries simply due to the demands of a special teams play. 

VanSumeren has had incredibly horrible injury luck over the last two seasons. However, there’s a strong possibility that his 2024 ACL recovery contributed to his 2025 patellar tendon tear. Whether these were the same or opposite knees, he came back incredibly quickly for an ACL tear. Considering he entered the league as a UDFA, nothing was guaranteed for him so he had to push in order to get back. I can’t fault him for that but I suppose it’s either do that or he’s looking for a new team if he’s cut at roster cut downs. Instead, he suffered another major knee injury. 

Final Thoughts

There’s some risk in signing VanSumeren to the roster coming off the injuries he has had the last two years. He still very likely isn’t at his pre-injury levels in terms of strength and abilities. He did pass a physical which is great to see but that only carries so much weight. Passing a physical and being ready to play in an NFL game are two different beasts. 

However, I don’t think VanSumeren is unlucky enough to suffer another major injury. At least not this year. He’s coming into compete against newly signed UDFA FB Jackson Acker. There should be competition at every position heading into training camp and both players have a strong shot at winning the job. 

Signing to a one year deal at what is likely a veteran minimum, there isn’t much risk the Bills are taking. If this was a multi-year deal or had some money attached to it, I’d have bigger concerns knowing the risk for further injury. We likely won’t see VanSumeren’s pre-injury form in 2026 as he continues to work back into playing shape.

If VanSumeren wins the job, it’s an interesting story switching positions but we don’t have a big sample size. If he suffers another injury or simply isn’t good enough, Acker can step in much like Reggie Gilliam did in 2020. 

I’m not the biggest fan due to the previous injury history, but I do see the upside along with the minimized financial risk moving forward. This is another shot for Ben VanSumeren to stay in the NFL as well. I wish him the best of luck.

I’d like to welcome Ben VanSumeren to Buffalo and to remain healthy this season. 

Top Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports