Buffalo Bills get the best news possible about star linebacker Matt Milano during of mandatory minicamp
Matt Milano has been working to get back on the football field, and on Tuesday he gave reporters the first glimpse. The linebacker suffered a severe injury to his right leg in the Buffalo Bills Week 5 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, UK. But now he has been cleared to slowly get back to […]
Matt Milano has been working to get back on the football field, and on Tuesday he gave reporters the first glimpse.
The linebacker suffered a severe injury to his right leg in the Buffalo Bills Week 5 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, UK. But now he has been cleared to slowly get back to it.
Head coach Sean McDermott confirmed this prior to the start of practice, saying that Milano would be a limited participants during the Bills' three-day mandatory minicamp.
The hope is that he will be projected to be 100% when training camp begins at the end of July.
So when he was asked about what it's like to have the linebacker back out on the field, McDermott's answer was short but sweet: "Yeah it’s big."
“Credit to Matt and what he’s been able to do with our training staff and the work he’s put in,” McDermott said. “He’s so focused. He was focused before this. I feel like he’s even more focused, if that’s even possible now, in wanting to get back out there for himself, but also for his teammates.”
During OTAs in the Spring, Milano was reportedly in attendance, but was forced to watch from the sidelines.
Milano fractured his leg in the injury he sustained in last season which required season-ending surgery. And the Bills truly suffered without one of their most underrated defenders, ranking 16th in the NFL in EPA per play from Week 6 onward.
Along with Milano being sidelined, McDermott explained that the team was also dealing with some other injuries.
“We’ve kind of got hit with the injury bug here, and you know that affects availability, which affects some of the development, building trust — especially if you’re a new player," the head coach said. "So we’re just dealing with it. We’ve had to cut back on some of the third group reps over the last week or so, and we may have to do the same today. We’ll see. We’ll how it goes.”
McDermott specifically mentioned that along with Milano, safety Mike Edwards and right Spencer Brown were limited, while linebackers Dorian Williams, Edefuan “Ede” Ulofoshio, Nick Marrow, and Baylon Spector along with running backs Ray Davis and Ty Johnson, plus full back Reggie Gilliam were not practicing.
Christian Benford was also missing, but he has an excused absence.
