Bills HC Sean McDermott gives encouraging injury update ahead of season finale

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott painted an alarming picture of the team's current health during his press conference on Monday, listing 14 players on the injured list in addition to former All-Pro linebacker Matt Milano, who will be out until at least the end of November with a torn bicep. That's a concerning state of affairs with about two weeks to go before the start of the regular season, especially given the turnover Buffalo's roster has experienced in the offseason; injuries are preventing a crop of new key players from getting much-needed playing time with their teammates as they prepare for the new season.

McDermott provided an encouraging update during his media presence on Thursday, first on new wide receivers Curtis Samuel and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, when he told reporters that it looks like both pass receivers will be available for Week 1. When asked for clarification, the sideline boss stated that the team is not ruling out any player (other than Milano) for the start of the regular season yet.

“If I go through the list quickly, there's nobody right now other than Matt Milano that we can definitely rule out for Week 1,” McDermott said. “It's just that there's a lot of uncertainty right now. But we've seen this before … you have a bunch of injuries and then all of a sudden Week 1 you're down to three guys on the injured list. We're going to go through that and work our asses off. I know they're going to do that too to come back and help our team.”

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While this is not necessarily a confirmation that Buffalo expects most of the injured players to recover before the start of the new season, McDermott's comments indicate that all players on the sidelines are making progress in their recovery. The team is taking additional measures to prevent further injuries to the starting lineup ahead of the season opener on Sept. 8. Buffalo will not use its starters in Saturday's final game of the season against the Carolina Panthers, and the team has held star cornerback Taron Johnson out of Thursday's practice, which McDermott described as a “preventive” measure.

McDermott went on to talk about the generally unpredictable nature of injuries, explaining that with adversity comes opportunity.

“The reality is nobody's God, nobody has a crystal ball that says, 'Hey, I can definitely say when this person is coming back, especially with some of these injuries,'” McDermott said. “That makes it a little bit more ambiguous, if you will. And then if they're deemed ready or given the green light, what can they do when they're on the field? And then how does that affect game planning, right? As unsettling as it is, it's also challenging and it's an opportunity for all of us to come together and really work together to communicate and make sure we're on the same page to figure that out.”

The preventative measures taken by Buffalo management should, in theory, result in a shorter injury report heading into the regular season. We'll know more in the coming weeks.

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