The Buffalo Bills made a surprise move when they announced their practice squad on Monday night, signing OT Jedrick Wills Jr. That name I’m sure made many do a double take as many recall him being the 10th overall selection of the Cleveland Browns in 2020 coming out of Alabama. Yes, that’s the same one. The next thought was, what is he doing on a practice squad?
Wills played for the Browns from 2020 until 2024 where he was then released and missed the entire 2025 season as he recovered from knee surgery. He signed with the Chicago Bears in 2026 before getting released during final roster cuts.
Read below for a full injury history and analysis.
Injury History
College
2019 Alabama
High-Ankle sprain, spring practices.
Wills suffered a high-ankle sprain during spring practices and miss a portion of the offseason but was able to return for the regular season.
NFL
2020 Cleveland Browns
Shin, Week 1, missed 0 games.
Wills took a shot to his shin in his first NFL game which caused a bone bruise that led him to be limited in practice the following week. He was questionable heading into the game but able to suit up.
Calf, Week 4, missed 0 games.
Illness, Week 12, missed 0 games.
He sat out practice for two days as he dealt with an illness before returning to practice as a full participant and had no designation.
Illness, Week 16, missed 1 game.
Wills missed the Week 16 game due to an illness he developed late in the week and ultimately missed the game. He spent the next week on the injury report as he recovered and was able to practice in full.
Right high-ankle, low ankle sprain, Divisional Round
Wills suffered a right ankle sprain that was described as both a high and low ankle sprain during the first offensive snap of the divisional loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
2021 Browns
High-ankle sprain, Week 1, missed 2 total games.
Wills suffered what appeared to be a high-ankle sprain in Week 1 but gutted through the injury for most of the season. Most weeks, he was unable to practice until the final day and was able to play. He aggravated the injury at some point, missing Week 5 and 6. This injury lingered until he was removed from the report after Week 9.
COVID, Week 15, missed 2 games.
Wills missed two games late in the season due to being on the COVID/Reserve list.
2022 Browns
Knee, Week 11, missed 0 games.
Lumbar disc bulge L5-S1, Week 16, missed 0 games.
Wills stated he woke up with his back stiffness that was the result of a disc bulge just above his sacroiliac joint which is at L5-S1 prior to the New Orleans Saints game the prior week and was unable to practice the following week until a late Friday practice allowed him to play in Week 17.
2023 Browns
Foot, Week 1, missed 0 games.
Wills was limited during the week leading up to Week 2 before getting a full practice in and played without a designation.
Shoulder, Week 2, missed 0 games.
Foot/Ankle, Week 8, missed 0 games.
Wills was limited following a foot injury sustained in Week 7 and at one point did not practice before getting a questionable designation and suiting up. He also battled the injuries for the following two weeks.
Right Knee, Week 9, missed 10 games.
Wills suffered a right knee MCL sprain, PCL sprain, and bone bruises that sent him to injured reserve. This was the result of teammate Kareem Hunt getting tackled into his leg as he ran through the line.
The initial expectation was that he would return that season but he ultimately underwent arthroscopic surgery in December to clean the joint out, ending his season. It’s not clear what was addressed but considering the MCL was a high-grade tear, he may have gotten that repaired.
2024 Browns
Right Knee, missed 3 total games.
Wills continued to work back from his knee injury in 2023 which forced him to start the season on PUP before being activated late in August. He missed the first two games as he worked back into shape. He played in Week 3 before getting hurt again and forced him out of Week 4.
He continued to play through the injury as he stayed on the injury report through Week 7.
Right Knee/Shoulder, Week 6, missed 0 games.
Left Knee, Week 7, missed 9 total games.
Wills hyperextended his left knee on the first play of the Week 7 contest against the Cincinnati Bengals but was able to finish the game. He sat out the following game against the Baltimore Ravens before returning in Week 9 against the Los Angeles Chargers but played in just five total snaps.
The prior week, Wills had stated that he sat out against the Ravens, citing it as a “business decision.” That upset the front office and coaches enough that he was demoted to swing tackle but did not see any snaps in the next three games before being placed on injured reserve ahead of Week 14 due to his lingering right knee injury, ending his season and missing the final five games.
2025
Wills missed the entire team and was not with a team as he rehabbed from his femoral osteotomy.
2026 Chicago Bears
Back, preseason, required injury settlement.
Wills was released with an injury settlement due to a back injury sustained during the preseason with the Bears.
Buffalo Bills Injury Analysis
This is a former 10th overall pick from the 2020 NFL Draft out of Alabama. His pedigree alone carries weight and is a large reason why he is still getting more shots despite not playing last year. He has missed 27 games over his career with 22 of those missed games coming in 2023 and 2024.
Most of this missed time was due to his right knee issues due to the MCL sprain that never got better. This led to a valgus deformity and required the distal femoral osteotomy and forced him to miss all of 2025. There were reports that he had surgery on his left knee that he hyperextended, but he is seen wearing a brace on his right leg while with the Bears.
Osteotomy
An osteotomy is a procedure that cuts, shortens, lengthens, or reshapes a bone. In this case, Wills required a femoral osteotomy. This was confirmed due to multiple reports along with an interview where he stated that he had surgery to the femur. He went on further to state that the knee and ligaments themselves were fine but the alignment was not correct.
There are other types of osteotomies including at the tibia, midshaft, and proximal femur, but given his prior injuries and mechanism of injury from the MCL sprains leading to a valgus deformity in his knee, he likely had a distal femoral osteotomy.
This surgery is meant to correct the alignment of the femur over the tibia by cutting out a wedge, stabilizing the outer portion of the bone with a plate and screws before injecting a bone paste in to recreate the bone in the cut out space. This in turn allows the femur to articulate with the tibia properly and avoid any varus or valgus deformities which would lead to significant structural and arthritic changes.
This video does an absolutely amazing job detailing out the surgery. It really simplified 3D video shows what the procedure is looking to achieve.
Return to Performance
Finding examples of high-level athletes returning to prior level of performance was incredibly difficult. There was one study I found from 2020 that looked at several female and male Division I basketball players that underwent a distal femoral osteotomy and was able to return to play to finish their careers. Promising, but not the same sport or demands.
This 2022 meta-analysis looked at 275 different articles with only 5 meeting the inclusion criteria. They found that 76.8 percent of patients who underwent a distal femoral osteotomy was able to return to the prior level or higher level of sport which was considered collegiate or competitive level. Close, but no professional comparisons.
This study from 2020 showed that 70.6 percent of patients returned to playing sports but 50 percent had to move down to a lower level of play. Overall, 82.4 percent were satisfied with their procedure which means it works but not as well for returning to sport.
One ray of hope, there was a study from 2011 that were case studies of two NFL players that underwent high tibial osteotomy. This is a similar procedure but addressed the inside portion of the tibia. The first player was a college player that had osteochondritis dessicans of the medial femoral condyle. He underwent surgery to correct the alignment and then successfully transitioned to the NFL though no additional details were provided about how long his career was or his position.
The other was a NFL player that had a medial meniscus cleanout and PCL tear that was not repaired. This led to medial compartment syndrome with varus deformity which basically means he was bowlegged. He underwent the high tibial osteotomy to correct the alignment and played for at least a year due to needing hardware removal due to irritation.
I may not have read every study or dug deep enough, but I did not find it ideal that I could not find any professional athletes undergoing this surgery. The closest ones were the high tibial osteotomy but it is a different procedure and there are no updates on the performance of those individuals. This surgery is proven to work to correct the alignment and either prevent or stop further arthritic changes based on the bowlegged or knock kneed appearance. The fact that this is a bone issue is more promising as bone heals more reliably than a ligament, cartilage, or tendon.
He’s passed two physicals with the Bears and Bills, though he is still recovering from his back injury from the preseason. This may be related to his 2022 injury where he had a disc bulge at L5-S1 and has flared up.
He also has the several high-ankle sprains, foot, and back injuries in his past that are of lesser concern as he works to come back from his knee surgery.
Final Thoughts
So what does this mean for Jedrick Wills? Honestly, I don’t know. He has a lengthy injury history coming off a back injury from the preseason and has not played a meaningful NFL game since October of 2024. Finally, he is coming back from a surgery that I can’t find any reliable comparables for a return to play in the NFL. While he says the ligaments and knee were fine, I’m sure there are some degenerative changes already present which also likely contributed to the surgery.
If he was not a former first round selection, I can’t say that he is getting second and third chances.
Considering he is on the practice squad, this is a zero risk signing for the Bills. I can’t fault the Bills for bringing someone in that has shown they can play but at a severe injury discount. If he’s finally healthy, this is a lottery ticket they can cash in as he gets his feet back under him. If he can’t do it anymore, the Bills have no obligations towards him.
I would love to see Wills succeed, he’s an incredible athlete and had some of the best surgeons and PT’s, but I’m wary about his ability to regain his prior level of performance. He’s a lottery ticket that could have you win a jackpot or two dollars. I’m curious to see how progress is made this season.
I’d like to welcome Jedrick Wills to Buffalo and to remain healthy this season.
Top Photo Credit: NBC Sports
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