The Buffalo Bills secured their first win of the season, well, preseason that is, with a 23-19 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday.
While at times the performance left something to be desired, these are the opportunities for many players to earn a roster spot and iron out the kinks. Unfortunately, while trying to secure a coveted role on the team, injuries do happen.
Below are all the reported injuries coming out of Saturday’s game and concerns moving forward.
In-game injuries
OT Tommy Doyle (Right knee)
Doyle went down during the first play of the second half when he got rolled up on from behind at the end of a Kyle Allen sack. As seen in the video above, numerous bodies caught him from behind, forcing his surgically repaired right knee to the turf. This injury comes after tearing his ACL in Miami back in Week 3 last year.
He appeared to favor the right leg immediately after but finished the offensive series playing right tackle until an interception ended the drive.
Doyle went into the medical tent to be checked out and was later ruled out of the game. He was observed on the sideline walking around the rest of the game and even during the postgame handshake, suggesting this was relatively minor.
Injury possibilities include a contusion, MCL sprain, PCL sprain, or patellar subluxation. A contusion or minor MCL sprain seems most likely based on what we saw after the game. Fortunately, the video did not suggest that he tore his ACL based on how he was hit.
Sean McDermott did confirm that this was the same knee that he injured last year but they did not have additional info at the time. Based on what we know, I expect him to be designated as day-to-day and be limited in practice for the next several days.
We will get more information when they resume practice this week, but for now, Doyle appeared to dodge a bullet.
DT DJ Dale (Ribs/back contusion)
Dale was forced to leave the game late in the third quarter after getting crushed under the weight of Sam Ehlinger and Kameron Cline after a sack. He was unfortunately in the wrong place and wrong time, suffering ribs and back injury.
He later went for x-rays immediately after the hit which appeared to be negative. After the game, it was reported that he would undergo a CT scan which would allow doctors to see if there were any hairline fractures or injuries not seen by plain X-ray.
Depending on the findings will determine how long he will miss practice. He will undoubtedly be sore, but avoiding fractures or rib cartilage damage will mean a quicker return to the field as he fights for a roster spot. I expect him to be day-to-day for now.
Other Updates
Listed above were the players that did not suit up due to injury. If you have been following along or read Friday’s article, none of those names above were surprising.
RB Damien Harris (Right knee)
Sean McDermott noted that he’s trending in the right direction with the knee injury, but waiting for a further timeline.
He originally injured the knee Monday at practice with what was described as a “sore knee”. It’s unclear what he is dealing with as any of the issues that he worked through last year were to his left side.
This will be an injury worth monitoring and with more information comes a clearer timeline that may identify the specifics.
LB Terrel Bernard (Hamstring)
While Sean McDermott wouldn’t put a timeline on Bernard’s injury, I do not expect him back very soon. Considering he tweaked the hamstring on Thursday, he doesn’t have a lot of turnaround time to be ready to play next week.
On average, Bills players who suffered hamstring strains missed one game and required treatment for at least two weeks during the regular season. There have been instances where players miss extended time in the preseason, but we don’t know the severity at this time. We may see Bernard in the third preseason game to get reps, but this injury is highly unfortunate.
He dealt with a variety of injuries in college that cost him 17 games missed over his career. However, most of these were more significant such as meniscus and labrum tears along with fractures.
Overall, the team came out with minimal injury issues. There will be additional players missing practice with injuries by the time this is published, but this is what is known so far.
Top Photo Credit: NBC Sports
