Bills’ Sean McDermott wastes no time ruling out several players ahead of upcoming tilt against the Cleveland Browns
Not the update fans were hoping to hear heading into Sunday, but it wasn’t all bad news from the Bills’ head coach.
The Buffalo Bills are once again battling through an injury bug; tell me if you’ve heard that story before. It was almost the same position as last week. Early on in the injury report and from head coach Sean McDermott’s comments, the team was looking relatively healthy heading into Sunday.
However, once the injury report was released, a few surprising names popped up on Thursday, including punter Mitch Wishnowsky, defensive end Cam Lewis, and offensive tackle Chase Lundt.
To make matters worse, several players downgraded to limited after being a full participant on Wednesday, including cornerback Taron Johnson and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones.
Perhaps the biggest surprise on the injury report, though, was that of tight end Dalton Kincaid. There was a walkthrough on Wednesday, and he did not practice due to a knee injury.
Fans were speculating that the team was just being extra cautious, but that wasn’t the case, as Kincaid missed Thursday’s practice with a knee injury as well.
McDermott rules out several players for Week 16
McDermott spoke on WGR550, ruling out several playmakers for the upcoming matchup against the Cleveland Browns. Fortunately, it’s a relatively good update from McDermott as the only players ruled out at this point are DaQuan Jones, kicker Matt Prater, and offensive tackle Chase Lundt.
In a surprising move, McDermott said “there’s a chance” that the Bills could activate wide receiver Mecole Hardman from the injured reserve.
For Hardman, this would potentially give quarterback Josh Allen and the offense another huge boost.
McDermott also shared that left tackle Dion Dawkins is back in the building after missing two days with an illness, another big boost for the offense. Side note: Aaron Kromer deserves a key to the city.
The head coach said that Kincaid is dealing with a knee injury, and the team is just trying to be smart, along with cornerback Christian Benford, who is trending in the right direction. For Kincaid, McDermott confirmed he will practice on Friday, and he doesn’t believe it’ll keep him out of the game on Sunday, but didn’t want to comment on it further or commit one way or the other.
All eyes will be on One Bills Drive over the next 72 hours to see what goes down on the injury front.
Any time you can get a playmaker on the field to pair with the reigning MVP, it’s a good day at the office. Hardman played one game for the Bills before getting hurt and being placed on the IR.
With kickoff fast approaching, the picture is starting to come into focus for Buffalo. While the injury report isn’t perfect, it could’ve been far worse, and the possibility of getting Hardman back gives the offense a spark. As has been the case all season, Buffalo will once again lean on the next-man-up mentality. If they can get healthier at the right time, they’ll like their chances heading into Cleveland.
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