ORCHARD PARK – The Buffalo Bills are staring at a potentially problematic situation in their defensive backfield for Sunday night’s season opener against the Baltimore Ravens.
Coach Sean McDermott said Wednesday that both starting cornerbacks, Christian Benford and Tre’Davious White, are dealing with lower leg injuries and they will likely be listed as questionable for the game.
White got hurt a few days before the preseason finale against Tampa Bay and has not practiced since. Benford’s injury is hard to pinpoint, but he has not been working in the last few sessions and McDermott said he would be “limited” Wednesday.
Reading the tea leaves, it seems like Benford has a better chance to play than White.
If either or both can’t play, the next men up at corner are Ja’Marcus Ingram and rookie Dorian Strong, and the Bills would probably have to use a practice squad elevation for Dane Jackson. None of that would be inspiring given Baltimore’s explosive offense.
“Yeah, they’ll be ready,” McDermott said of Strong and Ingram. “Those guys, they take a lot of pride in the preparation piece of things. Dorian obviously being new to us, but we’ve got great leadership on this team that can set a good example for them all the while.”
Here are a few other injury updates:
K Tyler Bass injury update
This is the other big injury to watch. Bass missed most of training camp with soreness in his pelvic area, then returned in time to kick in the preseason finale. However, late last week the Bills brought in three veteran kickers for tryouts just in case Bass can’t kick against Baltimore. McDermott confirmed that none of the kickers were signed, so that seems to indicate they feel good about where Bass is this week.
WR Khalil Shakir injury update
Shakir dealt with the dreaded high ankle sprain and missed about a month of training camp, but he returned to practice last week and though McDermott said he would be limited Wednesday, he should be a full go for the game.
S Jordan Hancock injury update
The rookie hurt his shoulder in the second preseason game against the Bears and was sidelined a couple weeks, but he was practicing and should be ready for the game.
LB Shaq Thompson injury update
The veteran free agent signing missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury but he is back in full.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Cornerback concerns mount for Bills ahead of Ravens clash: Latest injury updates
Reporting by Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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