The Buffalo Bills take on the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8 coming off their bye with the opportunity to move to 6-1 on the season. While the bye week did prove beneficial for several players, the Bills have several other players that are still working through injuries that may limit them for Sunday against a hungry Ravens team that has lost the last two games. The health of Lamar Jackson as he looks to return from his three game absence from his left high ankle sprain will be crucial to the success or failure. Despite his health, this is still a very formidable Ravens team that is looking to get back into the win column and get out of the basement of the AFC North.
The Bills have the benefit of playing home and coming off the bye, but this does not mean that they can take it easy and let the Ravens hang around. Additionally, their defense has been incredibly subpar and is ripe for Lamar Jackson to beat them over the top and steal this game if Buffalo does not come prepared.
Read below for a detailed analysis on each team’s injury reports and projected inactives.
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BUFFALO BILLS INJURY REPORT
QUESTIONABLE
CB Dee Alford (Right Ankle)
Alford continues to work through his right ankle injury sustained against the New England Patriots in Week 4. He missed Week 5 but was able to return in Week 6. What was concerning was that he went from limited on Wednesday before being downgraded to DNP on Thursday and Friday. This suggests that he aggravated the injury on Wednesday which would support more of a bone bruise concern I had earlier when he originally injured the ankle.
According to the Banged Up Bills injury database, a Bills player who has gone from limited to DNP to DNP has never played since 2016. I don’t expect him to play on Sunday. If he does, this is a significant change from previous protocols.
OT Spencer Brown (Back)
Brown was unable to practice on Wednesday and Thursday after he continued to battle through his back flare-up originally suffered against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5. According to Brown, he played in Week 6 thanks to enough drugs to sedate a small elephant.
He had said that there is no structural damage which suggests that there is no disc involvement. But if he continues to have muscle spasms during activity or his lumbar facets that are connected by ligaments that articulate with each other are not moving well, then this is why the back could be giving him the issues that it is.
This isn’t something that they can just shut off and make him play through. He needs drugs to help, but this will be a management issue to prevent it from getting worse and do the things that helped keep his back in good shape prior. If we learn that there is a disc issue or some other structural changes, then that’s a different discussion, but we have to go with the idea that the back is still angry, it needs frequent attention and the team has a plan to get things right.
If the team has the back in a good place, he plays. But this is something that he could wake up Sunday and he suddenly can’t go. I think he plays based off his history and the fact he was limited, but this situation could change quickly if his back gets angry.
TE Dalton Kincaid (Chest)
Kincaid wore a red non-contact this week during practice as he recovered from a rib injury sustained in Week 6 against the Las Vegas Raiders. This occurred when he fell on the ball with 10:47 left in the third quarter. He exited several minutes later before later returning to finish the game.
It’s interesting that they changed this to a chest designation which suggests that they’re designating this more on body area than the anatomy. There may be a contusion to the pectoral muscle, rib musculature, or even the cartilage that was a more generalized area that led to this designation. Either way, he was not limited during most of practice other than not getting hit which caused him to miss certain reps.
The team will likely do some type of injection, potentially padding, and make sure he can protect himself but I expect him to play as the area continues to heal.
WR DJ Moore (Left Shoulder)
Moore continues to wear a red non-contact jersey in practice as he rehabs his left shoulder AC joint sprain suffered in Week 2 and aggravated in Week 4. While it does appear concerning that he is still non-contact, this is to ensure that he does not take any unnecessary hits that could re-injure him. He stated that he was disappointed he couldn’t play but he appeared to understand that.
He has had nearly a month to recover which is usually enough time for an AC joint sprain. It’s not fully healed, but close enough to where he can play and if he takes another hit to the area, he can either protect himself to limit the severity of the injury or it would take equal or more force to set him back to square one. He may continue to require intermittent care to the shoulder, especially this is his second injury to the shoulder after suffering a similar injury last year.
He’s not out of the woods in terms of risk to re-injure, he is currently at 17.1 percent to re-injure the shoulder within the season according to the Banged Up Bills injury database, but he should be productive upon returning. If you play fantasy, he is expected to get 9.3 ppg which is 79 percent of his normal baseline over the last six games, but with a month off, he may score better than that towards his high-end potential.
LB TJ Parker (Knee)
Parker was a new addition to the injury report with a knee designation after appearing in Week 6 with a rib designation. After being limited Wednesday and Thursday, he got a full practice in on Friday which is a good sign that he will suit up on Sunday.
DT Greg Gaines (Calf)
Gaines made an appearance on the injury report with a calf injury that according to Joe Brady, he tweaked the muscle. Whether it tightened up on him or this was an outright strain, that part isn’t clear.
According to the Banged Up Bills injury database, a Bills player that did not have any designations before a final practice day injury played at 65.1 percent of the time.
It’s possible that this is something he could play through, but with the defensive depth available and the return of Ed Oliver, I would have Gaines sit.
ACTIVE
RB Ray Davis (Illness)
Davis missed practice on Thursday after he was designated with an illness but able to return on Friday.
LB Joe Andreessen (Right Knee)
Andreessen is back on the injury report with a knee designation after being removed last week. He was on the report from Week’s 3-5 with the knee which has been the right one that was bothering him dating back to OTA’s after suffering what appeared to be a right quad injury. It’s possible that he is working through tendinitis that will flare up at times and needs regular maintenance. Whatever the issue is, he doesn’t have a designation and will play Sunday.
LB Bradley Chubb (Chest/Left Thumb)
Chubb continues to work through his left thumb issue that appears to be a fracture suffered in the win over the Houston Texans in Week 1. As for his chest, he suffered what was called a rib injury in the first quarter and was forced to exit before later returning. He is in the same boat at Dalton Kincaid where it was a rib and later changed to a chest. This is something I also expect him to play through with padding, an injection, and ensuring that he can protect the area.
DL Ed Oliver (Left Knee)
Oliver continues to work back from his left knee injury sustained against the New England Patriots in Week 4 when former teammate Reggie Gilliam unintentionally took his knee out near the sidelines. This was potentially an MCL sprain which helps explain why he missed the last two games.
He can be seen moving well in individual drills during Wednesday’s practice without any braces or sleeves on the left side. Additionally, with a full practice on Thursday and Friday, he has no designation heading into the game and should be fairly close to pre-injury levels given the time off.
G Ar’maj Reed-Adams (Back/Right Elbow)
Reed-Adams, who has yet to appear in a game this year, had a new body part added to the injury report this week with a back designation after originally injuring his right elbow in practice ahead of Week 3. He was able to get full practices in this week after being limited but I still don’t believe he suits up and remains a healthy inactive.
DL T.J. Sanders (Left Shoulder)
Sanders is continuing to work through his left shoulder injury sustained against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 5. He has been wearing a shoulder harness in the Raiders game and during practice but it’s difficult to identify the specific injury he is dealing with. It’s important to highlight that this is the same shoulder he hurt in the playoffs last season but didn’t miss any time. This could be coincidence or something potentially lingering. There’s an association right now, but that’s about it.
PUP
WR Tyrell Shavers (Left Knee)
After cryptic social media posts by Shavers and his agent, Shavers’s practice window was activated on Wednesday as he continued his rehab back from his left ACL tear suffered against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the playoff win last year. If you’ve forgotten, he finished the game on a torn ACL which is insanely impressive. Despite his practice window opening up this week, I expect the team to use the entire window before they plan to activate him.
This puts his timeline around Thanksgiving and would put him roughly 10 months removed from surgery. He won’t be at pre-injury levels, but he will be able to contribute on special teams and offense when he returns.
BALTIMORE RAVENS INJURY REPORT
OUT
S Jaylinn Hawkins (Knee)
Hawkins appeared to suffer a knee injury in practice last Wednesday, that led him to miss practice Thursday and Friday. He was also unable to practice all week and was ruled out.
G Vega Ioane (Right Knee)
Ioane suffered a right MCL sprain during Sunday’s game that was expected to cost him some time but not put him on injured reserve.
Despite the injury, he did attempt to practice with a hinged knee brace this week on Thursday and Friday, but was ultimately ruled out.
ACTIVE
TE Mark Andrews (Hand)
Andrews has been on the injury report since suffering the injury in Week 3 during the second quarter against the Cowboys. He has been a full participant the entire time and whatever the injury is, he has not been affected by it throughout the last month.
S Kyle Hamilton (Right Knee)
Hamilton suffered a right knee injury during Sunday’s game in the first quarter that forced him to briefly leave the game before he missed one play and returned with a knee brace to finish. By video, it looked as though he suffered a hyperextended knee and in the still frame, that’s where it’s most apparent.
After missing practice on Wednesday, he was able to return on Thursday and get a limited practice in. Knee hyperextensions are tricky because they can look worse than they really are and other times, the knee can hyperextend and cause significant damage. The fact that he returned to play and was able to practice this week indicates that this is on the minor side, but it’s still a very real injury that will affect his ability to land after jumping, blocking by anchoring that foot into the turf, and overall confidence in moving on the leg. Fortunately for the Ravens, he doesn’t have a designation.
LB Trey Hendrickson (Right Finger)
Hendrickson underwent surgery to repair multiple fractures in his finger on his right hand and missed Week 4 and 5 This is an injury he originally suffered in Week 1 and had been playing through until he underwent surgery. He has been wearing a club on the right hand to protect the area which has prevented him from using his full arsenal of pass rush moves, but he is someone the team still has to account for each and every snap.
TE Matthew Hibner (Left Hand)
Hibner has been working through a hand injury originally suffered in Week 5 that forced him to miss Week 6 but he was able to return with a cast on the left hand in Week 7. He is certainly not the top tight end option for Lamar Jackson but has appeared to be more of a blocking tight end which is more suited when you have limited use of your hands.
QB Lamar Jackson (Left High-Ankle Sprain)
Jackson has missed the last three games after suffering a left high-ankle sprain in Week 5. He appeared close to returning ahead of Week 7, but he woke up with swelling the Saturday before the game and he was downgraded.
He was able to practice in full all week but stated that he still feels pain when he plants his foot. This isn’t surprising given that this is a high-ankle with the instability still present but if he were to stress the ankle running to the left, he’s going to feel it. Even running straight will have its issues, but he’s going to have to ask the ankle to do everything trying to avoid tackles, not just some things.
I’m not a football expert, but if I’m the Ravens, I’m making sure he has a clean pocket, short throws to avoid pressure and having to step too much into the throw through the left front leg. If you need to do designed runs, he needs to go to his right to avoid cutting on his left leg. I also hand off to Derrick Henry as much as possible.
If I’m the Bills, I pressure from the right side to flush him to the left and make him use his feet. I try to do whatever I can to make him have a muddy pocket and rush his processing. The longer he has to hold onto the ball, the more he has to rely on his feet or throw deeper.
There’s also a decent chance that Lamar re-injures himself in the game but the Bills shouldn’t hope that and if he can play, that means he can do enough to protect himself. Making him rely on his mobility is how the Bills can exploit mistakes.
NT John Jenkins (Knee)
Jenkins was a limited practice on Wednesday after appearing to suffer the injury in Week 7. He was able to get full practices on Thursday and Friday with no designation.
G John Simpson (Groin)
Simpson has been battling a groin injury that dates back to when he first appeared on the report ahead of Week 3. He has been limited during the practice weeks as he tries to get healthy but he has managed to suit up every Sunday. Whether this is just a groin injury that won’t heal or a core muscle injury, he has not missed an offensive snap.
LB Roquan Smith (Right Knee)
Smith was forced to leave Sunday’s game after suffering what looked to be a hyperextended right knee tackling a Bengals player. He was initially questionable to return but eventually did and was able to finish the game.
After not practicing on Wednesday, he was able to return as a limited participant. I expect that if he plays, he will have a knee brace on to help protect the area from further trauma.
OT Ronnie Stanley (Rest/Toe/Ankle)
Stanley was limited with toe and ankle injuries on Wednesday before returning to full practices Thursday and Friday with no designation. Unfortunately, he has a long history of ankle issues dating back to 2021. This is likely a chronic issue at this point and needs maintenance to ensure he is ready to go Sunday.
DT Broderick Washington (Ankle)
Washington has missed the last two games after suffering an ankle injury in Week 5. After getting a limited practice in on Wednesday, he was able to return in full on Thursday and Friday without a designation for Sunday.
INJURED RESERVE
CB T.J. Tampa Jr. (Knee)
Tampa continues to work within his practice window after he was placed on injured reserve after suffering a knee injury in Week 1.
RB Adam Randall (Neck)
Randall had his practice window opened on Wednesday after he missed the first seven games of the season. This was due to a neck injury suffered in the preseason but additional details are not available.
Buffalo Bills Projected Inactives
CB Dee Alford
DT Greg Gaines
G Ar’Maj Reed-Adams
OT Jude Bowry
DE Mike Danna
WR Skyler Bell
Call Up: CB Te’Cory Couch
Baltimore Ravens Projected Inactives
S Jaylinn Hawkins
G Vega Ioane
WR Elijah Sarratt
DT Aeneas Peebles
QB Joe Fagnano (Emergency 3rd QB)
Final Thoughts
The Bills and Ravens are both incredibly talented teams, but for each to win, they must exploit each other‘s weaknesses without making mistakes of their own. The Bills must force Lamar Jackson to become more mobile and flush him out of the pocket, forcing them into mistakes in order to limit the offense. As for the Ravens, they have to find a way to stress the Bills back seven and and exploit the issues with the communication in the secondary.
Despite the bills being a -3.5 favorite heading into the game, that’s not much wiggle room for the Bills to have many mistakes if they expect to win the game. They’ll have to use the crowd noise created by the new Highmark Stadium, along with shoring up the defense coming off the bye. Finally, they simply need to score a ton of points in order to win this game. Why I am incredibly biased and thinking that the Bills will win, I am also realistic that if the Bills defense does not show up or if they make several mistakes, the Ravens could easily steal this game and give the Bills their second loss.
This will be one of the more entertaining games this season due to the talent levels of both Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. I’m looking forward to a competitive game with hopefully no new injuries to either team.
Top Photo Credit: AP Photo/Wade Payne
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