Phase 3 OTAs wrapped up this week for the Buffalo Bills as they prepare for mandatory minicamp next week. While no official injury reports are released around this time of year, information continues to trickle out about injuries, rehab timelines, and new details the public was not aware of.
Read below for all the latest details coming out of Week 3 and what mandatory minicamp may look like.
New Injuries
S Cole Bishop (Undisclosed)
Bishop was present at Tuesday’s practice but did not practice according to Niagara-Gazette’s Nick Sabato.
There was likely due to some injury issue as he told Syracuse.com’s Matt Parrino that he had to go get some treatment according to Parrino on his podcast.
This could be maintenance but notable if he sits out of minicamp next week.
Injury Updates
DT Ed Oliver (Left Leg)
Oliver returned to the field Tuesday after missing most of OTAs due to not being there or standing off to the side. We see that he has a compression sleeve on his left leg from the result of an “oops oops”.
When that accident happened isn’t clear, but Oliver did clarify that he has had three surgeries since last year. We knew he had the distal biceps repair, the meniscus clean out, and this may have been the third surgery, potentially another knee scope. The only other possibility was his ankle when he was stepped on during practice ahead of Week 2 but we didn’t get any clues that he underwent surgery at that point.
Oliver appears on the mend and looks pretty good moving around during individual drills. We’ll see how much he does in minicamp next week but he looks to be increasing his workload.
OT Spencer Brown (Left Leg)
Brown continues to sit out of practice as he deals with a left leg issue as evident by his compression sleeve last week at his football camp.
There aren’t any details as to the exact issue whether this is a knee, hamstring, or quad, but I don’t anticipate him participating with minicamp next week. He has a complex injury history which means missing these events to make sure he’s fully healthy for training camp is the right approach.
WR Joshua Palmer (Undisclosed)
Palmer continues to work off to the side as he rehabs from his ankle, calf, and hip injuries sustained in Week 6 last season. We see him sprinting in the clip below and he looks rather uneven, especially with slowing down.
Speaking to the media for the first time since the injury, Palmer spoke with Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News. You can find the entire article here or click below, but Palmer confirmed that he did not have surgery, that he is nearing the end of his rehab and that this was the most difficult things he had to deal with in his football career.
We at least have clarification that he didn’t have surgery and that he elected to rehab which is a fine move. We don’t have the specifics of the injuries so it’s hard to say why he didn’t have surgery or why rehab has taken so long.
I’d rather have him doing this work now to be ready for the season than missing time during training camp. I don’t expect him to participate in minicamp next week but if he does, it’ll be a welcomed surprise.
DL Michael Hoecht (Right Achilles)
Hoecht continues to work his way back from his right Achilles tear last season as he rehabs off to the side. We didn’t see him do too many new things this week but it’s important to note that he has his training staff telling him not to put a timeline on the recovery. He does go onto state that he hopes to be ready for training camp.
I like that Hoecht is setting goals and it’s good to work towards those. The only takeaway I can gather is that his testing right to left or compared to pre-injury testing isn’t quite there. Progress isn’t linear so they want to continue to focus on rehab and see how he advances. This way, he doesn’t have any setbacks by overworking, trying to get ready or pushing too hard. I see a more likely scenario where he starts training camp on PUP but potentially comes off after a follow up or if he hits certain metrics to return. We’ll see how this plays out, he won’t participate in minicamp next week but whether he starts on PUP, is active, or is delayed to start the season remains fluid based on objective testing.
OT Dion Dawkins (Left Leg)
Dawkins continues to sit out of Phase 3 OTAs on field activities after he was spotted in a walking boot back on May 4. We haven’t seen anything on his foot since then and he’s been around the facility throughout OTAs. I don’t anticipate Dawkins participating next week in minicamp.
LB Joe Andreessen (Right Quad)
Andreessen continued to work off to the side as he worked through a right quad strain suffered at some point two weeks ago.
We didn’t get any rehab updates other than his participation level, but I don’t expect Andreessen to participate next week in minicamp out of an abundance of caution.
WR Khalil Shakir (Right Ankle)
Shakir continues to work his way back from his right ankle surgery in early March. He has participated in every practice and the only clue was that he continues to wear an ankle brace as seen in the picture below.
OL Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (Right Leg)
SVPG continues to practice as he wears a compression sleeve on his right leg. This is notable as this was the same side of his calf strain last year that forced him to spend the entirety of training camp on PUP.
DE Andre Jones Jr (Left Leg)
Jones continues to work through left leg issue as evident by his compression sleeve on his left leg. He doesn’t have any previous recent injuries to the area, but he has appeared to be a full participant at practice.
CB Christian Benford (Left Hand/Wrist)
Bernard came to OTA’s this week after missing prior weeks due to personal reasons. What’s notable about Benford is that this is the first time we’ve seen him on the field since a community appearance in late March showing that he had some type of hand/wrist surgery.
From the photographs and videos, he doesn’t appear to have anything on his left wrist and doesn’t appear limited. It’s important to highlight when procedures occur, but Benford appears to be back ready to go.
LB Terrel Bernard (Right Ankle)
Bernard was present on Tuesday participating in individual drills after appearing to be full go the prior week. He is still working back from his right ankle surgery from earlier this offseason. Unless he had a setback with soreness, I expect to see Bernard present in minicamp next week.
LB Greg Rousseau (Left Leg)
Rousseau was present on Tuesday but not practicing potentially due to the left leg issue he was dealing with two weeks ago as evident by his compression sleeve. It’s not clear if it worsened or if he just didn’t do anything when the media was present. Hopefully he is able to participate next week.
WR Tyrell Shavers (Left ACL Tear)
Shavers continues to work back from his ACL tear and is working hard in rehab. One thing that I saw on his Instagram story was a screenshot of his Catapult data from a training session on June 2nd.
We don’t have a lot of context as to what he was doing, but based on the metrics, it looked as though he had been sprinting which he could be cleared for at this point in his rehab according to the literature. It’s possible this was on a stationary bike but additional information would help clarify this. We also don’t know what his pre-injury metrics look like so to assume that he’s sprinting at 18.71 MPH in a straight line is fantastic, but what was he doing prior to the injury? How does his deceleration or slowing down look? Has he been introduced to cutting activities or is this involved in that?
This indicates progress as we hope to see but without more context, it’s hard to say when we will see him return to the field. I expect him to start on PUP for training camp and see how his rehab progresses through the season.
Final Thoughts
The Bills head into mandatory minicamp next week before they go on their final long break before training camp. What happens at OTA’s and minicamp is often a clue as to how a player may look early on in training camp or if he misses time. This is the time for players to harden their bodies and get right before entering the season.
Make sure to check back next week following minicamp to get the latest injury updates.
Top Photo Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
Discover more from Banged Up Bills
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
