The Buffalo Bills just wrapped up their third week of practice as they prepare to take on the Carolina Panthers in the first football game in the new Highmark Stadium on Saturday. By all accounts, the Bills are looking good on offense, getting many of their weapons involved and the defense appears to be challenging the offense and could take a big step forward in making the Bills a complete team that could make a deep playoff run.
Before they get there, they have to get through the preseason and avoid significant injuries. They have been good so far dealing with several scares and missing a few staters, but they have largely avoided many of the issues teams around the league have suffered.
Read below for the latest injuries coming out of the third week of Bills training camp including new injuries, updates, and new signings.
New Injuries
S CJ Gardner-Johnson (Right Leg)
On Monday, CJGJ dove to break up a pass in the end zone during practice and was slow to get up, eventually requiring training staff to look at his right lower leg before he exited the field.
There were initial concerns whether this was his lower calf again or whether this was his knee based on which beat reporter you get your information from.
Fortunately, he was able to return to practice in a limited ability on Tuesday, participating in individual drills according to the Niagara Gazette’s Nick Sabato.
WR Skyler Bell (Undisclosed)
Bell began missing practice on Monday with an undisclosed injury after he had been wearing compression sleeves on both legs last week.
It’s unclear if that is what is causing the missed practices, but we need more information to determine any concerns moving forward.
WR Ja’Mori Maclin (Undisclosed)
Maclin missed practice on August 10 and 11th with an undisclosed injury. He was able to return on August 13 and didn’t have anything on his body to suggest any particular injury or body part affected.
CB Kani Walker (Leg)
Walker began missing practice on Tuesday after getting quickly stretched out after he hobbled to the sidelines during practice. Hobbling says that this is lower body, but other than that, we don’t have any specifics. He had been wearing a sleeve on his left leg Monday, suggesting this may the issue.
Unfortunately, he was unable to practice all week but did get some work done inside the field house and will likely not suit up on Saturday.
OT Tylan Grable (Undisclosed)
Grable became the latest Bills player to deal with an injury as he left during positional drills with training staff and did not return. Grable missed most of his rookie season with a core muscle injury and then another big portion due to a preseason concussion.
This will be one we need more information on but while these injuries are unrelated, he’s slowly creeping towards being unreliable for the Bills.
Injury Updates
DT Zane Durant (Right Lower Leg)
After suffering a lower right leg injury on August 6, Durant had not been able to participate in the last three training camp practices until returning on August 11.
S Cole Bishop (Lower Body)
According to WGR’s Nate Geary, Bishop left early during the two-minute drill at the end of practice with what appeared to be a lower body injury. He was unable to practice all week but was working out inside the field house on Thursday indicating his situation is improving.
He is coming off his left knee scope from the offseason but this hasn’t been an issue so far other than wearing a sleeve on the leg during practice.
CB DJ Miller (Undisclosed)
Miller has missed practice since limping off with an undisclosed injury on August 7 that appears to be lower body. Because of the injury, he missed the scrimmage and practice on August 10 before returning on August 11, missing two practices total.
P Mitch Wishnowsky (Undisclosed)
Wishnowsky began missing practice on August 7 and missed 3 practices total before returning on August 11. We don’t have any specifics as to his injury or why he’s missed any time.
C Connor McGovern (Right Hamstring)
McGovern missed practice all week after suffering what appeared to be a right hamstring injury trying to chase down an interception during 11-on-11’s on Saturday. He walked off under his own power gingerly favoring the right side.
He did suffer a hamstring strain to the same side last year during joint practices with the Chicago Bears and missed roughly a week. Unfortunately, none of the beat reporters saw him working out indicating a timeline for return.
RB Ty Johnson (Right Hamstring)
After leaving Saturday’s practice following his fall during a one-on-one drill, Johnson was off to the side with a sleeve on his right leg as he worked with training staff.
He was unable to be seen working off to the side this week and we have no timeline as to when we can expect him to return.
CB Maxwell Hairston (Legs)
Hairston has been out of practice since August 7 with the team reporting that they are not concerned about his injury but they are just being precautionary.
On Tuesday, he was spotted performing rehab focusing on what looked to be exercises for his groin. There may be other injury issues, but a groin injury for a cornerback is rather common and if the team can avoid lingering issues, it’s best to sit him out until he is ready.
Thursday, he was observed inside working out with Kani Walker, Maxwell Hairston, and Cole Bishop, but we still don’t have an expectation on when he will return or what the specific injury is.
New Signings
CB Anthony Kendall
Final Thoughts
The Buffalo Bills get ready to play their first game in Highmark Stadium on Saturday against the Carolina Panthers. We will finally get to see how the new players fit into the schemes and what to expect heading into 2026. Starters are expected to play but I’m sure for a very short amount of time to avoid injury and to let players fighting for roster spots to get reps.
Though we saw an increase in injuries this week, the Bills are still down 39 percent compared to last season at this time heading into a preseason game. We have only seen one player placed on injured reserve with LB Demetrius Flannagan-Fowles for an undisclosed issue and most other issues only cost guys minimal time.
Additionally, we are starting to notice that Joe Brady is not giving us much in the way of information when it comes to injuries. We haven’t gotten a day-to-day or week-to-week designation or even a body part for that matter. Entering my 10th season, I know a thing or two about looking at injuries on the field, movements guys are making in practice, tape or brace placement, or any other clues that we do get during live action. This does make what I do more important when the team won’t give us basic information.
Additionally, even though the team isn’t giving much information, they still will very likely treat injuries the same as they have before. With my injury database going back to 2016, we can see how the Bills have managed a specific injury including time missed, the likelihood of the player suiting up that weekend, or anything else for that matter. Make sure to check my Spartera Marketplace to see all the product offerings. Click here to learn more.
We will continue to watch closely as the Bills prepare for the 2026 season with the hopes that there more bumps and bruises than outright injuries.
Make sure to check back for the latest Bills injury news and updates.
Top Photo Credit: Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle
Discover more from Banged Up Bills
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
