Max Hairston injury

[Rochesterfan]

15 hours ago, Charles Romes said:

I don’t think you can leave a guy on IR if he’s physically ready but not playbook ready, which is exactly what McDermott said he is. 

 

That is not true.  The team can decide when or if they want to activate the return window once they are on IR.  
 

Even if healthy - they can leave him on IR for the year or they can activate a window and after 21 days - even if healthy - return him to full season IR.

 

The way he looks with the big brace and the fact that guys on IR can’t practice or attend meetings - my guess is physically there appears to be many things he can’t do and mentally he will need ramp up time.  
 

So if I had to guess - I would think they give him more time now to let it get better and then around the bye you start the activation if he is physically ready - so the coaches have a full week to try to mental work to catch him up followed by a couple of weeks of practice to put pieces together and then you add him to the roster.

 

There is no rush right now - give him maximum time - and know everything changes with another injury on the team - the Bills have the flexibility to speed up or slow down the timeline.

 

 

[Charles Romes]

Paraino went overboard with the reporting of this story with the title of his pod, “could Hairston NOT return this season” and saying Hairston is wearing a “heavy” brace, when what he is wearing looks, well, like a brace. You don’t need to be fear-mongering for clicks with this invested and sensitive of a fan base. 

[BillsFanForever19]

I think McDermott is just trying to get people to slow their rolls on Hairston.

 

There are fans that have been calling for and even expecting he was going to see the field Week 5. I think the plan has always been to bring him back after the Bye.

 

Looking at the videos of him working out, that doesn't look like someone that's going to be shut down for the year.

 

I'd bet he is brought back to practice with the team in Week 6. He'll then get those practices, the ones during the Bye, and the practices leading up to Week 8.

 

I think Week 8 is the soonest we'll see him. Week 10 is the latest.

Edited September 25 by BillsFanForever19

[oldmanfan]

Let him heal up.  Our schedule right now is favorable.  And anyone suggesting a bust here, or with our second and third round guys, are ridiculous.

[Sierra Foothills]

There's mostly agreement on the last few pages here.

 

Again I'm with those that say that week 8 (after the bye) is his return.

 

I'm also guessing that the knee brace is a precaution.

 

[billsfan89]

4 hours ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

That is not true.  The team can decide when or if they want to activate the return window once they are on IR.  
 

Even if healthy - they can leave him on IR for the year or they can activate a window and after 21 days - even if healthy - return him to full season IR.

 

The way he looks with the big brace and the fact that guys on IR can’t practice or attend meetings - my guess is physically there appears to be many things he can’t do and mentally he will need ramp up time.  
 

So if I had to guess - I would think they give him more time now to let it get better and then around the bye you start the activation if he is physically ready - so the coaches have a full week to try to mental work to catch him up followed by a couple of weeks of practice to put pieces together and then you add him to the roster.

 

There is no rush right now - give him maximum time - and know everything changes with another injury on the team - the Bills have the flexibility to speed up or slow down the timeline.

 

 

 

I would tend to agree they are probably not going to activate his "practice window" until after the bye at the earliest. It would make sense timing wise as it would give him another month to get closer to 100% and then they would have a 21 day window where he can fully practice but still not be on the 53 which would give him time to "ramp up". The Bills don't really "need" him just yet. The Bills are a little weaker at corner but they are still fine there short term the Bills don't have many uber fast WR tandems they are facing in the coming weeks (ATL probably the most dynamic skill position players but not really speedsters there). 

[Rochesterfan]

1 hour ago, Sierra Foothills said:

There's mostly agreement on the last few pages here.

 

Again I'm with those that say that week 8 (after the bye) is his return.

 

I'm also guessing that the knee brace is a precaution.

 

 

After listening to Sal talk a bit, he suggested it might even be Thanksgiving as we have a bit of a mini bye - playing the Thursday before so you get a week and a half to get him ready.

 

We will see, but I totally agree that they are not going to rush him and set him back.  The speed of the ramp up will depend on the injury status of him and then other DBs.

 

 

 

 

[TBBills Fan]

As long as he's fully healthy when he comes back. Let's not rush it and make it worse

 

Keep in mind this is a rare and unique knee injury. It has been said typically his injury comes with other injuries(strains/tears) as well

[ColoradoBills]

13 hours ago, Big Blitz said:

Who was saying he didn’t look too agile out there today?  Like not able to cut.  
 

 

This looks really good 

 

 

 

I wish I had a better understanding by what McD meant by it’s a complicated injury or however he described it.  
 

But he looks close.  Like could play by week 8-9 close.  Thats 5 plus weeks away.  How much more time does this need?  

 

Is it just me or does it look like Max has put on a few pounds since the start of camp.

[RyanC883]

I’d like to see him after the bye at the latest.  He needs to get up to speed quickly because an injury (or performance) could push him to starting playoff games. 

[Brand J]

10 hours ago, Dan Darragh said:

Funny, I thought Josh Reed was African-American.

I too thought it was Bills former WR Josh Reed when I first saw the name a year or two ago. Funny coincidence. 

[syhuang]

 

[Big Turk]

On 9/24/2025 at 1:40 PM, Charles Romes said:

I don’t think you can leave a guy on IR if he’s physically ready but not playbook ready, which is exactly what McDermott said he is. 

 

Teams do it all the time.

[Comebackkid]

why is he wearing a sports bra?  

[RochesterLifer]

4 hours ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

Is it just me or does it look like Max has put on a few pounds since the start of camp.

Too many chicken wings.

[nosejob]

Sorry, but I'm taking the under 3 games for him this year. Gut feeling.

[appoo]

30 minutes ago, Comebackkid said:

why is he wearing a sports bra?  

GPS Tracker harness. Though yes it absolutely looks like a sporta bra

[947]

His legs definitely look thicker than they did in college. Very encouraging latest video compared to the previous day's vids.

[vincec]

5 hours ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

Is it just me or does it look like Max has put on a few pounds since the start of camp.

 

1 hour ago, Comebackkid said:

why is he wearing a sports bra?  

There’s your answer.

[4th&long]

Hopefully he can get on the field for a few games this year to get some experience for next year. His rookie year will be pretty much a wash out.