Saturday marked the end of a very hectic and busy week of Buffalo Bills training camp with tons of injury updates. From the growing list of injuries to the rollercoaster that was Maxwell Hairston’s right knee injury, there was so much information to cover.
For every injury update, analysis, and thoughts on a player, make sure to read below and use the headings to quickly find what you are looking for.
Removed from PUP
OT Spencer Brown (Back)
On Thursday, the Buffalo Bills removed Spencer Brown from the PUP list after placing him there prior to the start of training camp. He had been dealing with a back flare up for an unknown time prior to camp starting on July 22. Brown was on PUP for 10 days as he let things calm down. He was seen working through his offensive line drills on Thursday, just hours before he was activated.
We still don’t have the details as to what was the cause of the back flare up or any long term concerns at this time. He did have a microdiscectomy in 2022 during OTA’s that limited him during that training camp but there are other structures within the back that could cause flare ups. This will be something to monitor throughout the season.
Removed from NFI
TE Dawson Knox (Right Hamstring)
Knox was activated from the NFI list on Sunday 7/27 and has been working out off to the side as he worked through his right hamstring strain suffered prior to camp. He was unable to participate in any individual’s team drills Monday or Tuesday but was off to the side continuing to rehab.
On Thursday, he returned to practice in a limited fashion as he works his body back into football shape.
Considering how early this injury occurred, there was no incentive to rush Knox out there, especially with the heat. Typically, when Knox has had a hamstring strain, he works through it, and it does not crop up again during the season.
WR Laviska Shenault (Right Lower Leg Strain)
Shenault was activated from the NFI list on Sunday 7/27 and began to ramp up his workload, seeing a full practice on Tuesday. He wore a sleeve on his right lower leg but otherwise did not appear to be limited.
He has to play catch-up in order to make the roster, but being available now is giving him a chance at that goal.
New Injuries
WR Tyrell Shavers (Right Ankle)
Shavers injured his right ankle on the final play of Sunday’s practice when he was shoved late from Maxwell Hairston. He fell down in a heap, grabbing his ankle and there were initial fears as to the extent of his injury.
Fortunately, it was the best-case scenario as he only suffered a low ankle sprain and the injury wasn’t considered serious.
He missed Monday’s practice but returned to rehabbing on the side on Tuesday, a promising sign that he is recovering well.
On Thursday, he returned to practice as he continued to work his way back.
This is an injury that shouldn’t linger long into the season.
WR Kaden Prather (Left Hamstring)
Prather came up lame during Sunday’s practice limping into the medical tent. He emerged with a wrap on his left upper thigh area according to Sal Capaccio with Monday’s reports indicating a hamstring. There is some concern based on the description of the placement of the wrap that this is more of a proximal hamstring strain which could lead to more missed time than a distal strain.
He missed practice all week as he worked off to the side rehabbing his way back. As he increases his rehab, this will tell us when he’s closer to return.
WR Curtis Samuel (Left Hamstring)
Samuel missed most of practice on Friday talking to athletic trainers off to the side for an undisclosed reason. When he spoke with Nick Sabato of the Niagara Gazette, he noted that he was not 100 percent. On Friday, he was observed wearing a compression sleeve on his left thigh area.
On Sunday, he was out with a hamstring injury and missed the entire week. Brandon Beane noted that he would be back sooner than later.
While he isn’t in danger of losing his roster spot, he continually shows how much of a risk he is from an availability aspect.
LB Terrel Bernard (Hamstring)
Bernard missed practice every day this week with a hamstring injury. This injury originally cropped up during Friday’s practice, but he didn’t require attention from athletic trainers at the time. He fortunately doesn’t have a lot of previous soft tissue injuries, as most of his injuries are more sprains or significant damage to a muscle group versus the garden variety strains we often see early in camp.
As he is a veteran, there is no incentive to rush him back out there given his injury history, but, unfortunately, he is missing time.
WR Elijah Moore (Left Calf/General Leg Soreness)
OL Jacob Beyer (Right Elbow)
Moore missed most of Sunday’s practice due to general leg soreness according to the team. He was observed wearing a white leg sleeve on his left leg but it’s not certain that this sleeve was necessary for any particular issue.
He did return to practice Tuesday and got some work in with Brandon Beane further clarifying that he would be back rather soon.
He was observed with tape on his left calf area narrowing down the specific area he is working through. This will be another injury that may linger for camp but ideally not worsen.
TE Dalton Kincaid (Left Knee)
Kincaid sat out Monday’s practice dealing with knee soreness after getting tangled up with Matt Milano and Christian Benford falling hard to the ground. This was detailed more by Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News.
This was unfortunately his left knee where he sprained his PCL last season. What’s notable is that he simply had a sleeve on the left leg versus the hinged knee brace that he had last year further indicating the soreness versus a re-injury to the PCL.
He revealed to Katherine Fitzgerald of The Buffalo News that this was just precautionary and this was evident by his return on Tuesday.
K Tyler Bass (Pelvic Soreness)
Bass missed practice all week with what has been termed as pelvic soreness. This is a new phrase with injury management that we have not seen the Bills use before. With the term being used, this reduces the chances that this is a groin, hip flexor, low back or sacrum, or even abductor muscle.
Understanding the anatomy, there may be things such as testicular pain, kidney stones, core muscle injury, or even a condition known as Osteitis Pubis. This is a condition where there is inflammation between your left and right pubic bones, which is known as the pubic symphysis, from overuse, causing microtrauma.
This is common in individuals using their hips, pelvis, and groin, which would be exactly what Bass has been doing. This is seen often in pregnancy but also in soccer, hockey, basketball, etc. Given his positional demands, kicking is a high stressor to this area. If this is what Bass is dealing with, he would be experiencing groin or lower abdominal pain or aching throb, pain in the inner thigh, tightness within the pelvis, swelling, or genital pain.
Most cases respond conservatively with therapy and modalities, along with the possibility of injections. In a study in elite athletes, they had 42 cases deal with this condition and found 71.4 percent of cases had Stage I Osteitis Pubis; there are four stages with Stage I dealing with unilateral pain while Stage 2-4 have bilateral symptoms. Of those in the study with Stage I, most returned within three weeks. Bass has been out for a week up to this point and could potentially miss more time if this is lingering. As preseason games get closer, we could see a scenario where they bring in a kicker to play the games while Bass continues to rehab.
We need more information but I could see a scenario where Bass is out a little longer.
OL Alec Anderson (Left Knee)
Anderson was forced to leave practice on Monday after dealing with a left knee issue requiring some time in the medical tent and missed Tuesday’s practice.
On Wednesday, Anderson’s wife posted on TikTok that he underwent surgery Wednesday with a video that he was rehabbing already three hours later. Based on the expectation that this is a clean out and this report from Due Champions, he is expected to be back relatively soon.
The biggest issue is managing swelling, restoring range of motion, and strength. These can be rather uncomplicated, but he still needs to allow things to calm down to return without persistent swelling. Looking back, he was wearing a compression sleeve as early as the second week of OTAs. This was the same side that he injured his calf on during the playoffs, but if he had tweaked his knee then and practiced through it until Monday, the team may have elected to say, the issue got worse, let’s get it corrected now.
We may see him rehabbing very soon but I don’t expect to see him performing football activities until mid-August at the earliest.
DT TJ Sanders (Undisclosed)
Sanders briefly left practice Monday, requiring attention from athletic trainers in the medical tent before re-emerging to return to practice. There weren’t any descriptors as to what was being assessed. He returned to practice on Tuesday without any notable differences.
S Cole Bishop (Left Quadriceps)
On Tuesday, Bishop quietly left practice for a brief assessment before returning to the sidelines with his helmet but did not finish practice.
Thursday revealed that he is working through a quad issue, though it’s not clear if this is a contusion or strain. How much time he misses will determine what the ailment is.
He was seen walking around the stadium on Friday with a sleeve on his left leg. It may be another week before we see him return to the field.
RB Ty Johnson (Left lower leg)
Johnson left practice briefly after getting hit out of bounds during Tuesday’s practice from LB Joe Andreessen. He required medical attention from the athletic trainers before getting taped up and getting back onto the field. He was limited the rest of practice but returned on Thursday.
WR Joshua Palmer (Undisclosed)
On Thursday, Palmer was spotted with training staff going through a variety of different movements suggesting he was dealing with a lower body ailment.
However, he was back out there on Friday and did not appear limited or wearing any sleeves or braces.
CB Maxwell Hairston (Right Knee LCL Sprain)
Countless speculation and concern persisted for 24 hours regarding the health of Maxwell Hairston. Fortunately, he had one of the better scenarios suffering a LCL sprain that will keep him out several weeks. To read more, click below.
Hairston was spotted on Thursday walking with crutches and a brace to protect the healing ligament as he begins to rehab.
WR KJ Hamler/OL Mike Edwards (Heat Illness), DT DeWayne Carter (Illness)
All three missed practice Tuesday with their respective illnesses and returned on Thursday.
WR Khalil Shakir (Right Ankle/Foot)
Shakir was rolled up on during a run during a run play during Friday’s scrimmage and was assessed by training staff as seen in the post below.
This is a right foot/ankle issue according to Sal Cappacio. This is notable as this was the same ankle he injured against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4 last season. He ended up missing one game due to a high-ankle sprain. We need more information to see whether getting rolled up on gave him another high-ankle or if he has a lesser injury.
LB Shaq Thompson (Undisclosed)
Thompson left halfway through practice with an athletic trainer, walking up the tunnel and did not return. He has been wearing a sleeve on his left leg due to his Achilles tear from last season, but it’s unclear if he injured any musculature on that side.
Injury Updates
LB Dorian Williams (Right Calf)
According to Ryan O’Halloran of The Buffalo News, Williams was out of the walking boot at Sunday’s practice, a promising update as he recovered from his calf strain on July 24.
He has been off to the side rehabbing but we haven’t seen him do much just yet. I don’t expect to see him return to football for at least another week.
Returned to Practice
DE AJ Epenesa (Right Ankle)
After missing practice last Friday due to a right ankle injury on Thursday, Epenesa returned Sunday with his ankle wrapped up and ready to go.
Prior Injury Updates
OT Travis Clayton (Right Shoulder Labrum Tear)
Clayton has been practicing and wearing a harness on his right shoulder ever since he underwent surgery last year. The thought at the time was either a labrum or rotator cuff tear but Nick Sabato of the Niagara Gazette confirmed that Clayton tore his labrum last year, ending his season.
With his placement on injured reserve last year, the Bills were able to use their IPP roster exemption on Kingsley Johnathan. He has since added a second shoulder harness to the left shoulder either as a precaution or he is possibly dealing with a new injury.
DE Landon Jackson (Calf)
According to Nick Sabato of the Niagara Gazette, he interviewed Jackson who clarified that he tweaked his calf at the Sack Summit at the end of June. He was removing K-tape from his calf during the interview and this is why he was initially placed on PUP.
There were reports that he was dealing with a neck issue with a procedure after the initial report about PUP came out, but that has not been confirmed anywhere else.
Vet Rest Days
CB Taron Johnson 7/27
DT Larry Ogunjobi 7/29
DE Greg Rousseau 7/31
DT DaQuan Jones 7/31
OT Dion Dawkins 7/31
CB Tre’Davious White 8/1
LB Matt Milano 8/1
DE Joey Bosa 8/1
QB Josh Allen 8/1 – he was available Friday but was off to the side with a headset.
Observations
S Darrick Forrest (Left Calf)
Forrest has been quiet throughout the first week of camp with no reports of how he has been performing. He is wearing a sleeve on his left lower leg area but it isn’t clear if it is affecting him. This may be nothing but worth noting.
S Damar Hamlin (Right Shoulder)
Hamlin was sporting a shoulder brace on Monday under his pads as seen in the picture below. This was also the first day of practices so this may have been due to protection but it’s entirely possible he suffered a shoulder injury such as an AC joint during an inadvertent collision and is working through it.
OL Jacob Bayer (Right Elbow)
Bayer was sporting a right elbow sleeve on Monday and while these are often seen on offensive lineman, to see it only on one side is notable.
TE Jackson Hawes (Left Calf/Wrist)
Hawes has been working through a left calf or lower leg issue dating back to Friday but also appeared to injure his wrist at some point too. He had tape on the area on Sunday and a full brace on Monday.
LB Baylon Spector (Left Calf)
Spector has been wearing compression tights throughout camp but was spotted sporting tape on his left calf in a training camp picture. Whether this was proactive or he is working through something, he can’t afford to miss any time. He was also dealing with some left calf issues last year as he battled his right calf strain, causing him to miss time.
LS Reid Ferguson (Right Elbow)
Ferguson had worn a sleeve on his right elbow for about a week as training camp ramped up, but did not miss any time. He did deal with a right elbow injury around midseason last year and the sleeve may have been precautionary if he started feeling any discomfort.
New Signings
DE Kameron Cline
Releases
DE Hayden Harris (Bilateral Hamstring)
Harris was released on Thursday to make room for Kameron Cline. The reason was that Harris was dealing with bilateral hamstring strains. It is uncommon to suffer hamstring strains like this at the same time, but what likely happened was that he tweaked one hamstring and practiced through it. Due to compensation demands and giving his best effort to make the roster, the other hamstring likely went.
He was officially waived-injured which means he could go to injured reserve for the season but will likely receive an injury settlement and sign elsewhere once he is healthy. Before camp with the Bills, he did not have any publicly reported injury history.
Final Thoughts
There are a lot of injuries; the Bills are slightly ahead of last year’s pace when it comes to players requiring medical attention, but it is best to be cautious now rather than let things linger or worsen. Hopefully things begin to calm down as the weather cools off and players bodies become more acclimated to the return of football.
For the latest updates and instant reactions, make sure to check out Banged Up Bills on X and the site for regular updates.
Top Photo Credit: Associated Press
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