The Buffalo Bills continue to dominate, this time with a complete 19-0 win over the Green Bay Packers. Unlike last week, the Bills walked away with few injuries with little long-term concern. However, injuries from Saturday’s game may have a significant impact on Tuesday’s looming roster cut down.
In-game injuries:
Brandin Bryant (concussion)
Bryant suffered a concussion with 35 seconds left in the 3rd quarter when he attempted to tackle Packers running back Dexter Williams. His head bounced off Williams and Bryant fell down onto the turf, lying motionless for a moment before getting up and appearing disoriented.
Trainers ran out to assess him and get him off the field into the blue medical tent where they later ruled him out with a concussion. Bryant doesn’t have any publicly reported concussions so it is unknown when he will return. My initial guess is that he receives an injury settlement and moves on elsewhere.
Ryan Bates (right hand)
Bates suffered a right hand injury with 10:01 left in the 4th quarter. It’s not clear what he did but it looks like he hit it or got it caught in a jersey while blocking. He played two more snaps before coming out and going to the locker room. Considering his right hand is his snapping hand, this is likely why he left the game.
He did not return to the game but since the game was well out of reach for the Packers, it made sense to not go back in. It’s not clear what he did but it doesn’t appear that this will be a long-term issue at the moment.
Marquez Stevenson (head injury)
Stevenson suffered a head injury with 6:41 left in the 4th quarter on a punt return when he was hit by two Packers taking him down.
At time of publication, it has not been announced whether he suffered a concussion or not. This will not be announced until Wednesday’s practice or potentially during roster cut downs. This could affect his roster chances as to put him on the active roster and then move him to IR. He could also make the roster and play Week 1 if cleared. But there is no scenario where he stays on IR for the season or leaves with an injury settlement.
Did not play:
Antonio Williams- neck
Christian Wade- shoulder
Isaiah Hodgins- left knee
Isaiah McKenzie- left shoulder
Tommy Sweeney- left foot
Harrison Phillips- left knee
Spencer Brown- left knee
Taron Johnson- right hand
Levi Wallace- right hip
Dane Jackson- stinger
Jaquan Johnson- knee
Reid Ferguson- back
Stefon Diggs- rest/knee
I had thought Levi Wallace would suit up but did not and I had expected Isaiah Hodgins to play due to his need to fight for a roster spot, but he was also out. Diggs had been practicing and at warmups but ultimately did not suit up, possibly out of an abundance of caution. Otherwise, the rest were not surprising in that they did not play with the exception of Ferguson.
I went back to the Bears game and looked to see if there was anything I missed on extra points and punts, but there was nothing apparent on film where he appeared to injure his back. Sean McDermott noted that he was held out as a precautionary measure and he is day-to-day. This will be something to watch, hopefully this is minor. As I said in my previous article, any future roster moves may determine the severity.
Other observations:
Davis Webb (left shoulder)
Webb was spotted by TV cameras on the sideline with a shoulder stabilizer brace. This comes after his shoulder injury with 9:12 in the 4th quarter on a bad snap against the Bears. At the time, the injury did not appear to be anything, especially considering he returned next series.
But the presence of a brace certainly changes the severity of the injury. The brace would suggest a labrum injury considering how the defensive lineman landed on Webb’s shoulder during the Bears game. This specific brace prevents external rotation and abduction, motions that can stress the labrum and cause further subluxation.
However, the team could place Webb on IR at roster cut downs to allow them to keep him around but he wouldn’t be able to participate in practice. He was able to play through the shoulder injury but if the team is concerned about keeping guys around, this could be an easy out to keep Webb in the room.
Tommy Doyle/Spencer Brown (knee)
During the broadcast, Brandon Beane said that Spencer Brown dinged his knee up last week and was held out to be safe. He went on to say that Tommy Doyle bruised his knee, he was seen with a hinged brace on. While the injury is not a new development, it is important to highlight things that are said and how things match up with what is reported.
Taron Johnson (right hand)
Beane spoke on Taron Johnson and that hurt his hand this week at practice, specifically banged it up. Based on the presence of a cast, this would suggest a fracture in either the metacarpals or possibly even carpal bones. This is not a new development but it at least gives us a timeline of when he injured the hand and when he could return to play and be 100 percent effective. Right now, I don’t anticipate that he will miss Week 1, but interceptions may be tricky to come by initially.
Tommy Sweeney (left foot)
From the looks of it, Sweeney didn’t have a boot on either foot on the sidelines which is excellent to see considering he hasn’t practiced since injuring his foot against the Lions. This development may allow the team to move Sweeney to IR following roster cut downs to allow him to return during the season. Simply something to note prior to Tuesday’s deadline.
Players potentially eligible to go to short-term IR include Tommy Sweeney, Isaiah McKenzie, Jaquan Johnson, and Antonio Williams. While Christian Wade has not practiced much at all since early August and could be an IR candidate before roster cut downs, he is best to remain on the practice squad as an international player exemption to continue practicing and learning.
We will still see some questionable decisions made Tuesday that will be explained Wednesday. Until then, it appears that the team is slowly on the mend.
Top Photo Credit: BuffaLowDown
