ORCHARD PARK – When the Buffalo Bills host the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football, they will be down two defensive players as coach Sean McDermott ruled out linebacker Dorian Williams and cornerback Dorian Strong.
Williams, who has been starting in Matt Milano’s place, suffered a knee injury late in last week’s victory over New Orleans and did not practice all week. Strong incurred a neck injury which is believed to have happened in practice Wednesday because he was added to the injury report as a did not participate on Thursday.
“It’s something that popped up here so we’ll have to see as we move forward here,” McDermott said of Strong.
Bills injury updates include three players who will be questionable
The three players who sat out last week – defensive tackle Ed Oliver (ankle), Milano (pectoral), and offensive tackle Spencer Brown (calf) – were limited practice participants all week and their status will be questionable for the game.
“They’ve done some good things, each of them,” McDermott said. “It would be great to have them back, we’ll see how it goes. They will all practice in some fashion and we’ll see how they do.”
TJ Sanders added to injury list
Another player added to the injury list Thursday was rookie DT TJ Sanders with a knee injury and he was a limited participant Friday. If he can’t play, the Bills would love to just plug Oliver back in, but if he’s not ready, they could elevate Jordan Phillips or Zion Logue from the practice squad.
Milano has missed the past 2 ½ games, and with Williams out, the Bills would really benefit from getting him back for this game. Veteran Shaq Thompson would have to start if Milano can’t, and the Bills might need to elevate Keonte Jenkins from the practice squad to provide linebacker depth.
Strong’s injury is certainly a problem because he was getting full series’ of action against the Saints in place of Tre’Davious White and he has acquitted himself well in the first four games, including on special teams.
White will start, but behind him, the Bills are down to Ja’Marcus Ingram who has been a healthy scratch in all four games, Brandon Codrington and Cam Lewis. They could also elevate Dane Jackson from the practice squad which might be a better alternative than any of those three players despite his training camp and preseason struggles.
Bills injured reserve list: No players have started practice
The Bills have three key players on injured reserve who were eligible to have their 21-day practice windows opened, but that did not happen for cornerback Maxwell Hairston, offensive tackle Tylan Grable, and kicker Tyler Bass.
McDermott has said all are trending in the right direction, but the Bills aren’t ready to make those moves.
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: Defensive concerns linger in latest Bills injury update
Reporting by Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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