The Bills were back at it this week as they continue Phase 3 OTAs getting more offseason work in as they prepare for the 2026 season. Every week, the media gets one day to view the players working out which means we get insights into player participation and injuries.
Read below for all the injury observations coming out of Week 2 of Phase 3 OTAs.
New Injuries
LB Joe Andreessen (Right Quad)
Andreessen was a new addition to the sidelines as he worked through a right quad strain suffered sometime last week. Based on the tape, this looks to be a vastus lateralis strain which is just a more specific area of the quadriceps.
The fact that he was practicing last week and is off to the side rehabbing this past week suggests that this is a Grade 1 strain. These things happen and Andreessen is not one that’s on the injury report often.
DT TJ Sanders (Right Leg)
Sanders has been out and practicing with a sleeve on his right leg. This was the same knee that he had cleaned up during the season in 2025 that led to a brief IR stint. It’s not clear whether the knee is giving him problems or more soft tissue, but notable that this is the same side.
Injury Updates
DL Michael Hoecht (Right Achilles)
Hoecht is right where he should be at in his rehab process as he returns from his right Achilles tear suffered in Week 9 last season.
We see him doing more change of direction, jumping, and focus pushing off the right side as he sprints. This looks better than last week after he had some unevenness noted on his change of direction sprint.
Hoecht has said that he plans to be cleared by July 1st and this still seems possible. He’s looking good and the objective testing with force plates and power output from other testing will tell the Bills whether he needs to start on PUP or if he will be fully cleared. He will be at roughly 8.5 months removed from surgery by the time training camp starts. He could start on the PUP until he is cleared by his surgeon or he may be full go. We will have to watch to see if he makes any trips out to Los Angeles to see Dr. ElAttrache who did his surgery.
From the outside, this is still a wait and see approach, but the Bills know exactly where he is at in his rehab and timeline to return.
WR Joshua Palmer (Undisclosed)
Palmer continues to work off to the side as he rehabs through an undisclosed injury. He had the left high-ankle sprain last year that also affected his calf and hip that prevented him from running his full route tree.
With the continued participation with the training staff, I’m assuming that he underwent surgery, but we don’t have any confirmation of the exact area.
I have seen a lot of misplaced hate for Palmer. We usually saw that for Curtis Samuel who at times did earn the displeasure due to his inability to stay on the field. But keep in mind, Palmer did work through some minor things during OTAs and training camp before suffering his high-ankle sprain in Week 6 last year. Had he not suffered that ankle injury, he would have very likely been more productive.
Let’s give Palmer some grace as he works to be ready for the season. Last I checked, his contract is the 40th most expensive by AAV according to OverTheCap. There is a certain price you have to pay for talent in free agency but they also didn’t give him a top of market contract. He is still a person playing at the highest level of the sport and I think people forget that. Let’s quit dehumanizing him due to his injuries.
DE Landon Jackson (Right Knee)
Much has been said about Jackson’s weight gain eating between 5000-6000 calories a day to bulk up to play on the defensive line. But what wasn’t known prior to this week was that Jackson underwent knee surgery after his Week 10 injury last season.
Considering his LCL was intact and the PCL was only sprained, he likely underwent surgery to place an internal brace on the MCL to help it heal as it was fully torn. These rehabs typically take 4-6 months to recover from. Considering he suffered the injury in early November, he appears on track as he doesn’t have any bracing or limitations during practice.
Hopefully Jackson can make that second year jump in his NFL career.
DT Ed Oliver (Left Leg)
Oliver didn’t practice on Tuesday but was available in the building at some point during the day. While these are voluntary, Oliver may be sitting out due to injury. On his Instagram story, he had posted that he was riding one of his horses. What’s notable is that he’s wearing a full leg sleeve on the left knee.
This is the same knee that he had a meniscus clean up on back in December. Whether this is a knee or another soft tissue injury isn’t clear. He also had a hamstring strain back in 2024 during practice that led him to miss two games. Hopefully we will get some clarity on this soon.
OT Spencer Brown (Undisclosed)
Brown continues to be present during OTAs but not an active participant when media is present. He has had a history of back flare ups related to his previous microdiscectomy from 2022. He most recently had a flare up ahead of training camp in 2025.
This is pure speculation on my part considering the history but we have yet to receive an official reason why he is not participating. This is the time of year where it’s not worth pushing through anything but seeing what guys can and can’t do now are clues to issues later on.
OT Dion Dawkins (Left Leg)
Like Brown, Dawkins has been present but not participating on the days the media is at practice. He was seen in a left CAM boot back on May 4 and has done upper body lifting since then, but no on field work.
DT Kody Huisman (Right Leg)
Huisman, a rookie undrafted free agent, has been working through a right leg issue dating back to rookie minicamp. He (#61) has been wearing a sleeve on his right leg but this hasn’t appeared to limit his participation in any drills.
CB Dorian Strong (Neck)
We have gotten reports of Strong out on the field with a soft neck brace but not participating with OTAs. This is the first time that I’ve seen him around his teammates without the brace on but we still haven’t seen him participate in any formal practice.
He is about 3.5 months removed from neck surgery which was possibly a multi level fusion. It’s not impossible for him to return to play based on the research, but these are also case-by-case basis depending on the position and cervical levels operated on. We will continue to see what happens with his recovery and roster moves.
WR Tyrell Shavers (Left ACL Tear)
The only update for Shavers is that he’s out on the field with his teammates as seen by the picture below.
He is roughly four months out from surgery which means he should be progressing to running in a straight line and beginning agility drills at his stage in the recovery. We haven’t seen him do any of this yet but that’s where most protocols have him at. I fully expect Shavers to start on the PUP list and stay on there for a majority of the season with a possible late season return.
Final Thoughts
Things look overall pretty good from an injury standpoint. We are getting more updates without too many new injuries. This is the time of year to work through various issues and get the body ready for training camp two months from now. Despite the best research and practices available, we will still see a spike of injuries the first week of training camp, but the work done now can help minimize some of the issues at that time.
Hopefully we continue to see more progress from the guys coming off surgery, getting updates on some of the undisclosed issues, and avoiding any new injuries.
Top Photo Credit: Timothy T Ludwig/GettyImages
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