The Bills looked to be recovering from some of their more serious ailments from earlier in the summer going into their second preseason game. However, before the regular season begins, the Bills have a number of new issues to deal with as a result of the game versus the Steelers.
The team has been obliged to act because of the sheer number of injuries. Coach Sean McDermott made the unusually early decision to bench all of the starters in the team’s preseason finale against the Panthers on Saturday afternoon, despite the fact that the Bills wanted to play almost every player.
The Bills often do not announce their starting lineup until a day or two prior to the exhibition game. Rather, they will approach their three workouts this week as more regulated preseason drills.
However, their current state of injuries goes far beyond Saturday’s preseason match. With roster cuts scheduled for Tuesday, August 27, at 4 p.m., many of the injuries carry multi-week implications, so the Bills may have to get inventive.
The Bills have 16 percent of their 91-man roster on injured reserve, including the two players they placed on injured reserve last week.
Bills Injury Report, August 19
Given that majority of the injuries are limited to a few positions, how does this affect the roster decisions that will be made in the near future? Here’s a potential state of affairs.
Quarterback
After spending nearly a full year on Shane Buechele’s development and a free agent contract on Mitchell Trubisky, the Bills might have a scary backup quarterback plan for Josh Allen going into Week 1. After Trubisky hurt his knee against the Steelers, McDermott announced that the team’s best backup quarterback will be sidelined for “several weeks.” Due to a neck injury, Buechele was already placed on season-ending injured reserve. The only players left are Allen, Ben DiNucci, and Anthony Brown, who they signed on Monday, according to NFL Network. For the NFL quarterback equivalent of five seconds, DiNucci has been with the team for five, and Brown even less. Presumably, their hope was that DiNucci could see them through the preseason and into the regular season.
The Bills may attempt to make a quarterback change if they believe a potential return would come too soon after the regular season opener. A lot will rely on Trubisky’s condition. They have several choices about how to proceed. The first would be to scour the waiver wire following the final cuts and select their first choice; the disadvantage being that that player would immediately be guaranteed a spot on the 53-man roster. If Trubisky misses one to three weeks of action, the team’s second, less intrusive alternative would be to sign someone to the practice squad (DiNucci and Brown are candidates for that), and then call that player up to the 53-man roster as needed.
The final choice would only be to place Trubisky on injured reserve at the start of the season, which would keep him out of action for the first four weeks. That would be making a trade for a quarterback—someone who is acquainted with the offensive scheme would be excellent. If the Steelers are amenable to the concept, Kyle Allen, the team’s third quarterback and the backup for the Bills last season, would seem to be a natural fit. The good news is that Trubisky will have at least a little extra time to see whether he can be ready to start the season with cutdown day set for August 27, as opposed to just before Week 1.
Wide receiver
With all of Monday’s changes, there was a noticeable decline at wide receiver. Week by week, Curtis Samuel gets tagged because of his turf toe, and he is a notable member of their top four. Marquez Valdes-Scantling will be sidelined for “several weeks” due to a neck issue, according to McDermott. Valdes-Scantling was almost a roster lock and their obvious fifth receiver. Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, and Mack Hollins are the three healthy receivers that the Bills still have, as they were signed to play offensive roles at the start of the season.
McDermott acknowledged that they are more worried than not about which of their players—who have been out for several weeks—will not be ready for Week 1. It would not be shocking, though, if Samuel was among the wide receivers McDermott was more enthusiastic about, given the language he used to characterize the position in particular. There is a noticeable distinction in severity between “out multiple weeks” and week-to-week, in McDermott jargon. As a point of comparison, this week at practice, safeties Cole Bishop and Mike Edwards, who were designated as week-to-week in late July, are starting to play more.
If such is the case, the Bills will not have to make any roster cuts as a result of Samuel’s injury. To make room for another receiver, they could have to start the season with Valdes-Scantling on injured reserve. They would have to make that decision by next week, unlike the backup quarterback decision, because the guy they would keep in place of Valdes-Scantling would probably have to clear waivers. With his injury, Tyrell Shavers, an obvious sixth receiver, might be guaranteed a position on the team.
Safeties Cole Bishop, pictured, and Mike Edwards could be back to full practice soon after being injured. (Bryan M. Bennett / Getty Images)
Safety
The Bills’ most injured position for the majority of the summer received some encouraging news, despite the team suffering injury after injury. Two of their possible starting choices at free safety, Bishop and Edwards, will start to work their way back up to a full comeback starting this week. According to McDermott, the intention was for both to take part in individual drills and walkthroughs during practices. For the defense, this is a huge breakthrough because it means that both players may resume full practice in the run-up to the regular season. The team will have more roster flexibility on cutdown day knowing this.
What is more, they will check to determine if Bishop or Edwards are in the right place to start on opening day. With his hamstring issue, Hamlin was only given a week-to-week status. Although McDermott did point out that there is a distinction between a player missing time and a player fresh to the system missing time, Hamlin’s injury may put an end to his hopes of starting this season. The possibility of Hamlin starting is still there if they stick to it.
Tight end
Of the updated injuries, Quintin Morris’s injury seemed the least encouraging. Quintin Morris is their obvious third tight end and a vital component of all special teams units. Morris will be sidelined for several weeks, according to McDermott, and the team is looking for additional testing on his shoulder ailment. If those examinations indicate that a protracted absence is necessary, injured reserve may come into play. Zach Davidson, a popular in the locker room, or a guy at a different position who would have a greater influence on special teams might take that roster slot. It could be a tough choice because they could likely convince Davidson to clear waivers and join the practice squad.
Linebacker
This week, in addition to Bishop and Edwards, veteran linebacker Nicholas Morrow will intensify his individual drills and walkthroughs in an attempt to earn the fifth linebacker spot on the 53-man roster. Matt Milano is anticipated to start the season on injured reserve, thus Morrow will compete for that job against players like Deion Jones and Joe Andreessen, who is from Buffalo. However, it is not a given for tomorrow. Prior to Morrow’s injury, Jones seemed to be outplaying him, and Andreessen made the most of his chance against the Steelers. However, one thing to watch out for is if Morris ends up on injured reserve, since it may allow the Bills to retain six linebackers for purposes other than special teams. The lone additional casualty was Baylon Spector.
(Top photo of Mitchell Trubisky: Joe Sargent / Getty Images)
