Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott provides surprisingly negative injury update before trip to Seattle
As the week has gone on, it has been looking less and less likely that starting middle linebacker and wearer of the green dot Terrel Bernard would be able to play in this game, and before Friday's practice, head coach Sean McDermott made it official that Bernard would be out for Sunday.It's a big loss. […]
As the week has gone on, it has been looking less and less likely that starting middle linebacker and wearer of the green dot Terrel Bernard would be able to play in this game, and before Friday's practice, head coach Sean McDermott made it official that Bernard would be out for Sunday.
It's a big loss. What comes as a surprise, though, is that McDermott also ruled out ascending rookie defensive tackle DeWayne Carter with a wrist injury. Taking it even further, McDermott said Carter would need surgery that will sideline him multiple weeks. McDermott also said Carter isn't going on IR right now, adding "we'll see. There's a good chance of that. I don't know if we're there yet, but there's a good chance of that."
For a rookie that has been ascending as the season has gone on, providing valuable depth on the interior of the defensive line, Carter's absence is a big blow.
"There's a mental health component for every one of us, you guys included, and players young and old. In this case, it's a young player, and you get to a certain point in the season and you're not used to this long of a stretch, even for a player that's healthy," McDermott said. "You've got preseason, before that it's training camp, and then into the regular season, which we're almost somewhat around halfway. It gets long for some of these young guys. In this case, for [Carter], it's some adversity early on in his career. But you know, and I said this earlier this morning, that perseverance is about a number f smaller, shorter windows of of situations that you go through. This is a small window for him that he'll have to push through, and I'm sure he's confident that he can do it, and I'm sure he's done it before in his career."
No Carter and no Bernard means the spine of the Bills defense is taking a big blow before a meeting with a Seahawks offense that has two very strong running backs in Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet. Despite being a pass-happy offense, the Seahawks have been successful on the ground when they've wanted to, averaging 4.5 yards per carry and 1.4 rushing touchdowns per game.
Run defense has clearly been a weak spot for the Bills, and these injuries make it weaker. Seattle will have an opportunity to attack the soft underbelly of the Bills defense this weekend, if they choose to.
Follow along all season for all the latest Buffalo Bills news. You can also find me on X @JonHelmkamp.
