Injured Bills coming back?

[Bockeye]

Apologies if there already is a thread, but with so many injured and not a lot of information that I can find about precise return dates, wanted to see if anyone had insight.
 

Who will be back when and how are they going to shuffle the deck?
 

Daquan Jones - Sean McDermott announced on Tuesday afternoon that defensive tackle DaQuan Jones will return to practice. That means the Bills are opening up his 21-day practice window to be activated off injured reserve and return to active roster.

 

Epenesa - When asked about his opportunity to play in Week 16, head coach Sean McDermott was swift, but pessimistic in his response.

“I don’t think so,” he said.

 

Hyde - against LAC Buffalo safety Micah Hyde was ruled out for a second straight week a

as he recovers from a neck stinger suffered in Week 14. 

 

Justin Shorter - Rookie receiver Justin Shorter (hamstring) had his 21-day window-to-return Dec 13.  He has been on injured reserve the whole season.

 

Ty Johnson -  Ty Johnson inactive against LAC with a shoulder injury.

 

Kaiir Elam - Dec 6 his 21 day window opened. 
 

Damien Harris - Will miss extended time after exiting Week 6 and being taken to the hospital with a serious upper-body injury.Although he is eligible to return in Week 11 against the New York Jets, it seems unlikely.

 

Jordan Phillips - Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips is set to miss at least a game or two of the team’s stretch run toward the 2023 postseason.

Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott announced that Phillips had surgery on his wrist. He sustained the injury in Week 15’s win over the Dallas Cowboys

 

I’m certain some players are missing from this list.  

[HerdMentality]

I, for one, appreciate this thread. I don’t think there’s a concise way to get injury updates on this site. Thanks. Hopefully others have some inside information to share! 🙂

[mmmfriedchicken]

Thank you for this

[Westside]

Any update on a possible Milano return this year?

[Bferra13]

31 minutes ago, Westside said:

Any update on a possible Milano return this year?

From 6 days ago:

Per head coach Sean McDermott, Buffalo might see Jones soon… but Milano won’t be back.

The coach said it’s still anticipated that Milano will not return at any point this season or postseason if the Bills make it to the playoffs

[Tim Tindale]

Phillips is IR, eligible to return in the divisional round of the playoffs…
 

Bills To Place DT Jordan Phillips On IR

December 21st, 2023 at 10:35am CST • By Sam Robinson

Suffering a dislocated wrist in the Bills’ dominant win over the Cowboys, Jordan Phillips expressed hope he could return for a playoff run. If the team is to qualify for the postseason, Phillips will not be available to start that journey.

The Bills are placing the veteran defensive tackle on IR on Thursday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports. Phillips will be sidelined for the final three regular-season games and Buffalo’s playoff opener, should the team continue its recent form into a postseason berth.

[JerseyBills]

3 hours ago, Westside said:

Any update on a possible Milano return this year?

not happening unfortunately 

 

Jones will 100% be available for Mia or Wildcard

[Kaenon]

All speculation here below.

 

DaQuan Jones will come back.

Poona Ford will get a bigger role, Phillips likely gone.

Ty Johnson and Fournette are interchangeable right now.

Epenesa should be back.

Shorter I'm very curious (and high) on, doubtful he sees much playing time and doesn't have a ton of chemistry with Josh and it's getting down to crunch time, but we'll see!

Elam? Might be in for reserve but healthy scratch most games.

Hyde maybe back at some point? Thinking playoffs.

Milano, no & even though I heard from a neighbor who is friends with Milano's family that he would be back for late playoffs (AFC CG), but that was months ago.

[MiltonWaddams]

16 minutes ago, JerseyBills said:

not happening unfortunately 

 

Jones will 100% be available for Mia or Wildcard

I had expected the opposite about a month back. Based on the injuries each sustained, I thought Milano would return before Jones

[Dan Darragh]

I can't believe I'm going to write something this stupid, but...

 

I thought Shorter looked really good in preseason.

[LABILLBACKER]

33 minutes ago, Dan Darragh said:

I can't believe I'm going to write something this stupid, but...

 

I thought Shorter looked really good in preseason.

It's not stupid,  he did look promising in preseason.  Once Gabe leaves for FA, Shorter's role will expand.  Getting DQ back will be huge for Ed and our DE's.  And I know it's a long shot but if we go deep, I could see Milano back by the AFCCG.

[BigAl2526]

If my addition is right, Buffalo has to put Elam on the 53 man roster by tomorrow or he's done for the year.

Right now, I think Hyde is the player who would make the biggest difference if they can get him back.  After that, it's Jones. I'm not even thinking about Milano being back or he would be in consideration for the player who could make the biggest difference.  Hyde is important because Rapp can't cover.

Edited December 26, 2023 by BigAl2526

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

On 12/24/2023 at 11:55 AM, Bockeye said:

Apologies if there already is a thread, but with so many injured and not a lot of information that I can find about precise return dates, wanted to see if anyone had insight.
 

Who will be back when and how are they going to shuffle the deck?
 

Daquan Jones - Sean McDermott announced on Tuesday afternoon that defensive tackle DaQuan Jones will return to practice. That means the Bills are opening up his 21-day practice window to be activated off injured reserve and return to active roster.

 

Epenesa - When asked about his opportunity to play in Week 16, head coach Sean McDermott was swift, but pessimistic in his response.

“I don’t think so,” he said.

 

Hyde - against LAC Buffalo safety Micah Hyde was ruled out for a second straight week a

as he recovers from a neck stinger suffered in Week 14. 

 

Justin Shorter - Rookie receiver Justin Shorter (hamstring) had his 21-day window-to-return Dec 13.  He has been on injured reserve the whole season.

 

Ty Johnson -  Ty Johnson inactive against LAC with a shoulder injury.

 

Kaiir Elam - Dec 6 his 21 day window opened. 
 

Damien Harris - Will miss extended time after exiting Week 6 and being taken to the hospital with a serious upper-body injury.Although he is eligible to return in Week 11 against the New York Jets, it seems unlikely.

 

Jordan Phillips - Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips is set to miss at least a game or two of the team’s stretch run toward the 2023 postseason.

Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott announced that Phillips had surgery on his wrist. He sustained the injury in Week 15’s win over the Dallas Cowboys

 

I’m certain some players are missing from this list.  

The annual Jordan Phillips injury

[NeverOutNick]

Glad we will have Jones back. That is great news and even though Hyde has lost a step we need him in there over Rapp. Rapp is a tackling machine but awful in coverage. Shorter is a body catcher and won’t help Josh at all but maybe special teams he could be valuable. Hopefully Elam is healthy now and can be used in case of emergency because he did show some promise at the end of last year 

[FireChans]

36 minutes ago, BigAl2526 said:

If my addition is right, Buffalo has to put Elam on the 53 man roster by tomorrow or he's done for the year.

Right now, I think Hyde is the player who would make the biggest difference if they can get him back.  After that, it's Jones. I'm not even thinking about Milano being back or he would be in consideration for the player who could make the biggest difference.  Hyde is important because Rapp can't cover.

Elam ain’t coming back. 
 

They stashed him on IR and replaced him with Norman.

[djp14150]

On 12/24/2023 at 11:55 AM, Bockeye said:

Apologies if there already is a thread, but with so many injured and not a lot of information that I can find about precise return dates, wanted to see if anyone had insight.
 

Who will be back when and how are they going to shuffle the deck?
 

Daquan Jones - Sean McDermott announced on Tuesday afternoon that defensive tackle DaQuan Jones will return to practice. That means the Bills are opening up his 21-day practice window to be activated off injured reserve and return to active roster.

 

Epenesa - When asked about his opportunity to play in Week 16, head coach Sean McDermott was swift, but pessimistic in his response.

“I don’t think so,” he said.

 

Hyde - against LAC Buffalo safety Micah Hyde was ruled out for a second straight week a

as he recovers from a neck stinger suffered in Week 14. 

 

Justin Shorter - Rookie receiver Justin Shorter (hamstring) had his 21-day window-to-return Dec 13.  He has been on injured reserve the whole season.

 

Ty Johnson -  Ty Johnson inactive against LAC with a shoulder injury.

 

Kaiir Elam - Dec 6 his 21 day window opened. 
 

Damien Harris - Will miss extended time after exiting Week 6 and being taken to the hospital with a serious upper-body injury.Although he is eligible to return in Week 11 against the New York Jets, it seems unlikely.

 

Jordan Phillips - Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips is set to miss at least a game or two of the team’s stretch run toward the 2023 postseason.

Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott announced that Phillips had surgery on his wrist. He sustained the injury in Week 15’s win over the Dallas Cowboys

 

I’m certain some players are missing from this list.  

 

I expect Epenesa and Hyde will be playing in WC game

. I hope Jones returns for WC.  Elam activation depends on other injuries.

[ColoradoBills]

3 hours ago, Kaenon said:

All speculation here below.

 

DaQuan Jones will come back.

Poona Ford will get a bigger role, Phillips likely gone.

Ty Johnson and Fournette are interchangeable right now.

Epenesa should be back.

Shorter I'm very curious (and high) on, doubtful he sees much playing time and doesn't have a ton of chemistry with Josh and it's getting down to crunch time, but we'll see!

Elam? Might be in for reserve but healthy scratch most games.

Hyde maybe back at some point? Thinking playoffs.

Milano, no & even though I heard from a neighbor who is friends with Milano's family that he would be back for late playoffs (AFC CG), but that was months ago.

 

My hope is Ty Johnson is back ASAP.  I like his fit with the OL blocking.  It would be great to see him back with the Bills next season.

 

Not sure if Justin Shorter is being considered right now for the 53.  I am leaning for him to be WR6, but someone has to go.

It seems he is either activated or they shut him down for the year to save his rookie contract status.

If he is activated, I guess they would have to waive a tackle and hope he slides to the PS.

 

It's getting to the time of the year that PS "elevations" could come into play if needed.

 

Does anyone have a list of current PS players and how many times they have been elevated?

[ganesh]

1 hour ago, NeverOutNick said:

Glad we will have Jones back. That is great news and even though Hyde has lost a step we need him in there over Rapp. Rapp is a tackling machine but awful in coverage. Shorter is a body catcher and won’t help Josh at all but maybe special teams he could be valuable. Hopefully Elam is healthy now and can be used in case of emergency because he did show some promise at the end of last year 

Rapp also plays dirty and is inline for being called with a penalty. He hurts the team more often

[BigBadBills]

10 minutes ago, ganesh said:

Rapp also plays dirty and is inline for being called with a penalty. He hurts the team more often

he is not a very smart football player.

[Reks Ryan]

1 hour ago, BigAl2526 said:

If my addition is right, Buffalo has to put Elam on the 53 man roster by tomorrow or he's done for the year.

Right now, I think Hyde is the player who would make the biggest difference if they can get him back.  After that, it's Jones. I'm not even thinking about Milano being back or he would be in consideration for the player who could make the biggest difference.  Hyde is important because Rapp can't cover.

For Elam, yes they need to decide in the next couple days.  Currently Bills are only at 52 active players, since last when they put Philips on IR.  My feeling is that Jones will be 53 and they left the roster at 52 to give more time to make a decision if Hyde is going to play again, and perhaps activate Elam in his place to fill out the DBs.   

[billsfan89]

My hope is Jones comes back for the Pats game so that he can “knock off” the rust in some rotational snaps and then hopefully be close to 100% against the Fins.

 

AJE and Hyde would also be big returns to the defense hopefully they can get them running by the Fins game. 
 

Ty Johnson would also be a good addition for the offense to get him back by the Pats game.
 

Shorter is maybe a Special Teams add but I don’t think he is consequential. Phillips we all know is out until the playoffs. Elam I hope will come back as depth but it is not that dramatically consequential. Harris is also inconsequential as he has been replaced by Johnson and Fournette. 
 

Overall considering where this team was injury wise it isn’t in terrible shape. Just have to get a few key players back and rolling.

[Reks Ryan]

1 hour ago, FireChans said:

Elam ain’t coming back. 
 

They stashed him on IR and replaced him with Norman.

Norman is currently on the practice squad. Not on the 53 man roster

[Einstein]

1 hour ago, FireChans said:

Elam ain’t coming back. 
 

They stashed him on IR and replaced him with Norman.

Didn't they open his 21 day window about 3 weeks ago? 

They're going to have to do something. If they don't activate him, he will be gone for the season.

[FireChans]

2 minutes ago, Einstein said:

Didn't they open his 21 day window about 3 weeks ago? 

They're going to have to do something. If they don't activate him, he will be gone for the season.

Yes and it’s been crickets

12 minutes ago, Reks Ryan said:

Norman is currently on the practice squad. Not on the 53 man roster

They can, and have, elevated Norman on game days.

[jlgarsh]

2 hours ago, NeverOutNick said:

Glad we will have Jones back. That is great news and even though Hyde has lost a step we need him in there over Rapp. Rapp is a tackling machine but awful in coverage. Shorter is a body catcher and won’t help Josh at all but maybe special teams he could be valuable. Hopefully Elam is healthy now and can be used in case of emergency because he did show some promise at the end of last year 

This might be a hot take, but I think Damar is better at coverage than Rapp

[That's No Moon]

2 minutes ago, jlgarsh said:

This might be a hot take, but I think Damar is better at coverage than Rapp

[jlgarsh]

Just now, That's No Moon said:

Rapp is ranked 93/94 safeties in coverage by PFF. No Way Damar was worse than that last year

[ColoradoBills]

5 minutes ago, FireChans said:

 

They can, and have, elevated Norman on game days.

 

I just looked up the current Bills PS players elevation stats.

 

Norman - 3 times.  Next time he has to be signed to the 53.

Isabella - 2 times.

Ingram - 1 time.

Fournette - 1 time.

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/transactions/_/name/buf/buffalo-bills

[NeverOutNick]

Just now, jlgarsh said:

This might be a hot take, but I think Damar is better at coverage than Rapp

They both are trash in coverage. Safety is definitely a draft need next year unless they’re planning on converting Tre or someone to that role. That Hamilton kid for Baltimore was amazing.

 

My big draft needs would be best WR first round, safety and OT second/third round (replace Brown) get that Michigan kid Corum in the 4th round if he falls that far…hopefully we can resign Jones and Epenesa to team friendly deals as well

[That's No Moon]

2 minutes ago, jlgarsh said:

Rapp is ranked 93/94 safeties in coverage by PFF. No Way Damar was worse than that last year

Rewatch the December Miami game.

[jlgarsh]

Just now, NeverOutNick said:

They both are trash in coverage. Safety is definitely a draft need next year unless they’re planning on converting Tre or someone to that role. That Hamilton kid for Baltimore was amazing.

 

My big draft needs would be best WR first round, safety and OT second/third round (replace Brown) get that Michigan kid Corum in the 4th round if he falls that far…hopefully we can resign Jones and Epenesa to team friendly deals as well

https://www.cover1.net/buffalo-bills-damar-hamlin-2022-impact/

 

Damar was rated a top 50 safety last year. Rapp is 93rd. I'm not saying he's a Pro Bowler, but he's better than Rapp. I don't buy the "he'd be active if he was better" line either. We saw Poona Ford get an opportunity and he played better than some of the other DTs have all season. Kingsley Jonathan played better than Von too.

[Einstein]

4 minutes ago, jlgarsh said:

This might be a hot take, but I think Damar is better at coverage than Rapp

 

Damar is better at coverage than Rapp. Without a doubt, in my opinion.

 

But Rapp is wayyyy better at tackling and aggressiveness. 

The number of times Damar missed a tackle in the hole last year was enough to make me not want him on the team anymore. He was so so so bad on many of the angles.

Here are a few reminders:
 

 

[jlgarsh]

1 minute ago, Einstein said:

 

Damar is better at coverage than Rapp. Without a doubt, in my opinion.

 

But Rapp is wayyyy better at tackling and aggressiveness. 

The number of times Damar missed a tackle in the hole last year was enough to make me not want him on the team anymore. He was so so so bad on many of the angles.

Here are a few reminders:
 

 

I have no disagreement with this. For being thrown into action without prior starting experience,  I was happy with how he played last year. Rapp started for the arms for a few seasons before getting here. Maybe I graded on a curve. Definitely agree with you that Rapp is a better tackler.

[Reks Ryan]

16 minutes ago, FireChans said:

Yes and it’s been crickets

They can, and have, elevated Norman on game days.

True, but my point is that at this juncture in the season Norman's spot doesn't have anything to do with whether or not Elam gets activated.   Elam won't go to the practice squad, he'll either be activated to the 53 or placed on season ending IR.    If the team / Hyde determine that the risk is too great for Hyde to play, then they IR Hyde, and Elam would be an option for that spot.  

 

If injuries create a situation where Norman gets elevated for the Dolphins game (assuming it's for the division) or a play off game, we're in trouble.   I would much rather Elam play, or Hyde comes back and Lewis returns to his role as backup. 

[FireChans]

29 minutes ago, NeverOutNick said:

They both are trash in coverage. Safety is definitely a draft need next year unless they’re planning on converting Tre or someone to that role. That Hamilton kid for Baltimore was amazing.

 

My big draft needs would be best WR first round, safety and OT second/third round (replace Brown) get that Michigan kid Corum in the 4th round if he falls that far…hopefully we can resign Jones and Epenesa to team friendly deals as well

Brown has been pretty good this year. I think OT is still on the agenda, but it may be to replace Dawkins rather than Brown.

14 minutes ago, Reks Ryan said:

True, but my point is that at this juncture in the season Norman's spot doesn't have anything to do with whether or not Elam gets activated.   Elam won't go to the practice squad, he'll either be activated to the 53 or placed on season ending IR.    If the team / Hyde determine that the risk is too great for Hyde to play, then they IR Hyde, and Elam would be an option for that spot.  

 

If injuries create a situation where Norman gets elevated for the Dolphins game (assuming it's for the division) or a play off game, we're in trouble.   I would much rather Elam play, or Hyde comes back and Lewis returns to his role as backup. 

I’m not sure the coaching staff would rather have Elam over Norman, and as the other poster stated, Norman’s next elevation comes with a spot on the 53.

[NeverOutNick]

33 minutes ago, FireChans said:

Brown has been pretty good this year. I think OT is still on the agenda, but it may be to replace Dawkins rather than Brown.

 

Brown is still the worst o lineman of our starting 5 but that’s a good point on finding a replacement for Dawkins as he gets older and more expensive too. I think they are hopeful that Van Denmark is the guy for LT too

[Kaenon]

1 hour ago, BigBadBills said:

he is not a very smart football player.

What do you mean?

He's always using his head on every play I see him in.

😉

[Matt_In_NH]

When Harris went down, McDermott said things that made it sound like he was done...I remember something like he wanted to "respect  his situation".  There was also a rumor he was considering retirement.  THe play he was injured did not seem that out of the ordinary but something bad happened.

[Bockeye]

Thanks for the of appreciation. Thought it might be nice to have a central thread for all the injuries as we head into the critical portion of the season. 
 

We may just have a lot of pieces coming back at the right time. 
 

If we can get Jones and Epenesa back for Miami, they would be HUGE!

[MikePJ76]

Sal broke it all down earlier today

 

Kaiir Elam’s 21-day practice window closes today. The Bills will have until 4 PM ET tomorrow/Wednesday to activate him to the 53-man roster or have him stay on IR for the remainder of the season. They could activate him, then release him with the intent of re-signing him to the PS, but it’s highly unlikely he would pass through waivers unclaimed. So I doubt that’s the play. DT DaQuan Jones also appears set to return soon. They actually have until January 9 to activate him, but if he’s healthy enough and the team wants him available this weekend vs. Patriots, they’d have to do it this week. In that scenario, if they activated both Elam and Jones, they would have to make room on the roster for one player, either via release or IR. Or just wait another week on Jones and see what happens. The team also has until January 3 to activate WR Justin shorter from IR or he will stay there for the remainder of the season. DT Jordan Phillips remains on IR and must miss three more games, including the first round of the playoffs, should the Bills make it. As far as practice squad elevations, RB Leonard Fournette still has two remaining with only two regular season games left. They can elevate him for both vs. Patriots and at Dolphins with no issues. In the postseason, players can be elevated an unlimited number of times, but each team can still elevate a maximum of only two players per week.

Edited December 26, 2023 by MikePJ76