How the Buffalo Bills' injury wave affects cutdown day

Heading into their second preseason game, the Bills appeared to have overcome some of their long-term injuries from earlier in the summer, but the game against the Steelers brought with it a new set of issues that the Bills will have to overcome before the start of the regular season.

There are so many injuries that the team is forced to act. Although the Bills wanted to use almost all of their players, coach Sean McDermott made an unusually early decision to bench all of his regular players in the final game of the season on Saturday afternoon against the Panthers.

The Bills typically wait until a day or two before a practice game to announce their plans for starters, but instead will treat their three practices this week as more controlled repetitions of the preseason.

But their current injury situation extends well beyond Saturday's preseason game. Many of the injuries will result in multiple weeks of absence, and with roster cuts coming up on Tuesday, August 27 at 4 p.m., the Bills may have to get creative.

Including the two players they placed on the injured list last week, 16 percent of the Bills' 91-man roster is out due to injury.

How does this impact upcoming roster decisions, especially with many of the injuries concentrated in a handful of positions? Here's a look at the potential situation.

quarterback

After investing a free-agent contract in Mitchell Trubisky and nearly a full year developing Shane Buechele, the Bills could enter Week 1 with a troubling plan of having franchise quarterback Josh Allen as their backup. Trubisky suffered a knee injury against the Steelers and McDermott said their best backup quarterback would be out for “several weeks.” Buechele has already been placed on the injured list with a neck injury, which is season-ending for him. That leaves just Allen, Ben DiNucci and their new addition Anthony Brown, who they signed on Monday, according to NFL Network. DiNucci has been on the team for five seconds, which is equivalent to an NFL quarterback, and Brown even less. They were probably hoping DiNucci could get them through preseason games and then enter the regular season with just Allen and Trubisky on the roster. That may no longer be an option.

Much will depend on Trubisky's diagnosis, but if they feel a potential return would come too close to the season opener, the Bills could look to make a move at quarterback. They have a couple of options to do that. The first option would be to dig down the waiver list after the final cuts and sign their favorite, although the downside would be that player automatically gets a spot on the 53-man roster. The second, less intrusive option for their initial roster would be to sign someone to the practice squad, with DiNucci and Brown as options, and then bring a player onto the 53-man roster if needed if Trubisky misses one to three weeks of the regular season.

The last option only exists if they feel Trubisky is a candidate to start the year on the injured list and sit him out the first four weeks. That would be to get a quarterback, with the ideal scenario being someone familiar with the offensive scheme. Kyle Allen, the Steelers' current third quarterback and last year's backup for the Bills, seems like an obvious choice if the Steelers are open to the idea. The good news is that with cutdown day on August 27th rather than just before Week 1, they can at least give Trubisky a little more time to see if he's ready to start the year.

Wide receiver

With all of Monday's updates, the wide receiver spot has taken a pretty big hit. Curtis Samuel's turf toe injury keeps him out week to week, and he's a prominent member of their top four. Meanwhile, Marquez Valdes-Scantling's neck injury will keep him out for “several weeks,” according to McDermott. Valdes-Scantling was their clear fifth receiver and almost certain to make the roster. That leaves the Bills with three healthy receivers — Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman and Mack Hollins — who were projected to play roles in the offense earlier in the year.

McDermott admitted they're more concerned about some of their players being injured for multiple weeks not being ready for Week 1 than others, but wouldn't say who. However, given the rhetoric McDermott uses to describe wide receivers specifically, it wouldn't be a surprise if Samuel is one of those he's more optimistic about. In McDermott's language, there's a considerable difference in severity between “week-to-week” and “multiple weeks out.” For reference, safeties Cole Bishop and Mike Edwards were classified as “week-to-week” in late July and are starting to step up in practice this week.

If that holds, the Bills won't have to do anything to trim the roster because of Samuel's injury. They may have to place Valdes-Scantling on the injured list early in the year to make room for another receiver. Unlike the decision on the backup quarterback, they'll have to make that decision by next week because the player they'd keep in place of Valdes-Scantling would likely have to come through the waivers list. His injury could free up a roster spot for sixth receiver Tyrell Shavers.

Security

Although the Bills have taken blow after blow to their roster, there has been some good news for their position with the most injuries during most of the summer. Bishop and Edwards, two of their potential starting options at free safety, will begin preparing for their full return this week. McDermott said the plan is for both to participate in walkthroughs and individual drills during practice. This is a very important development for the defense, as it would allow both players to return to full practice leading up to the regular season. This knowledge gives the team more flexibility in roster choices on cutdown day.

More importantly, they'll see if either Bishop or Edwards is where they need to be to be the opening day starter. The only other option is Hamlin, who has been out week-to-week with his hamstring injury. Hamlin's injury could potentially end his chance to be a starter this year, though McDermott noted there's a difference between a player missing time and a player who is new to the scheme. If they stick with that, Hamlin's position as a starter is still in play.

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Tight end

The injury to Quintin Morris, their clear third tight end and a core member of all special teams, sounded the least promising of the injury updates. McDermott said Morris will be out several weeks, and the team plans to have his shoulder injury further evaluated. Injured reserve could come into play if those tests necessitate an extended absence. That roster spot could go to either locker room favorite Zach Davidson or a player at another position who would impact special teams more than Davidson. They could likely get Davidson through the waivers to the practice squad, potentially making the decision difficult.

Linebackers

In addition to Bishop and Edwards, veteran linebacker Nicholas Morrow will get into his stride this week with walkthroughs and one-on-one drills to earn the fifth linebacker spot on the 53-man roster. With Matt Milano expected to start the year on the injured list, Morrow will be battling the likes of Deion Jones and Buffalo native Joe Andreessen for that spot. It's not a sure thing for Morrow, though. Jones seemed to have the edge on him before Morrow's injury, and Andreessen took full advantage of his opportunity against the Steelers. One thing to keep an eye on, however, is whether Morris goes on the injured list, which could give the Bills the opportunity to keep six linebackers for special teams purposes. The only other injury is to Baylon Spector, the team's backup middle linebacker who has played well this summer. He's out week-to-week with a calf injury, and if that carries over into the regular season, that could be another reason to force them to keep six. Given the many new injuries in the squad, Andreessen is now a serious candidate for the 53-man roster.

(Top photo of Mitchell Trubisky: Joe Sargent / Getty Images)