Joshua Palmer close to returning to practice; details injury/recovery

[YoloinOhio]

Quote

Nearly eight months since he writhed in pain on the grass at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Palmer is still recovering from an injury that derailed his first season in Buffalo.

"It was probably one of the most difficult things I’ve had to deal with in my entire football career," Palmer told The Buffalo News. "The injury was very hard."Palmer's left ankle buckled as Falcons nickel cornerback Dee Alford, whom the Bills signed as a free agent this offseason, dragged the receiver to the ground. There was more to the injury than Palmer expected. He declined to reveal specifics, but the tackle caused other issues in his left leg. 

 

Edited June 5 by YoloinOhio

[SCBills]

Huge Wild Card on Offense. 
 

Moore, Shakir, Palmer with a healthy Kincaid slots everyone into their true roles and with Palmer at the 3, playing outside with the ability to stretch the Defense opposite Moore.. that’s a very formidable receiver group regardless of what Keon and Bell bring to the table. 
 

I have zero reason to believe he can stay healthy though.  He had stuff like this going on in LA as well.. which is exactly what Chargers fans told us when we signed him.  

[Slippery Rubber Mats]

Rooting for him, if he can be a solid #3 or 4, they'll be in good shape

[BUFFALOBART]

Palmer = Useless.

Leave him on the bench, to prevent further 'injury'. 

 

[zow2]

He's one of those guys that rubbed me the wrong way since his first interview.  Then he goes out and is not a big difference maker...and worse, he seems injury prone, which means he's useless.  Prove me wrong Josh, but I'm just not a fan.

[Sierra Foothills]

10 minutes ago, SCBills said:

I have zero reason to believe he can stay healthy though.  He had stuff like this going on in LA as well.. which is exactly what Chargers fans told us when we signed him.  

 

The Chargers have fans?

 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

I'm happy he's here because with moore in the fold, that puts some pressure on the WR2 position to play/practice well or you're not going to be seeing the field much.  Got a rookie, a young player who has struggled, and palmer.  We run the ball a lot, so blocking is a big piece of that - but palmers ability to shake man coverage was one of the main reasons he was brought here.  

[Sierra Foothills]

37 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

"Palmer, who turns 27 in September, recently visited Jamaica to hold a football clinic. He collaborated with the Human Development Fund, a charity that provides emergency relief around the world, to assist farmers and fishermen who were impacted by Hurricane Melissa. Palmer visited orphans. Much of his family in Toronto is from Jamaica. He'd heard stories and seen the devastation from afar. The reality was grounding, a reminder of what's important in life. 

The past 12 months reminded Palmer of how fragile a football career can be. One injury can send everything into a tailspin. He's not discouraged. Far from it. 

"I’m close," he said. "I’m excited. I’m feeling more like myself. It was unfortunate. It was something I had to battle through. It was kicking my butt, but my only goal is to get healthy and help the team win next year."

 

[ScottishBills]

Sure he's a nice bloke, but relying on anything here is a waste of time. As it has been his whole career

 

Add it to Beane pile of ***** at WR from FA

Edited June 5 by ScottishBills

[Roundybout]

I still think Palmer can be a useful asset, but I’m not going to pretend he’s a solution to our overall receiver deficiency. 

[Lost]

I never knew he was injured.   I just thought he sucked 🤷‍♂️

[The Frankish Reich]

I liked what I saw in Palmer last year when he was healthy. You would think that being a strong route runner is kind of the baseline for an NFL WR, but tell that to Keon.

[Augie]

52 minutes ago, Slippery Rubber Mats said:

Rooting for him, if he can be a solid #3 or 4, they'll be in good shape

 

He would be like found money at this point. 

[PetermansRedemption]

Add me to the list who didn’t even know he ended the season injured. Didn’t much matter, he was invisible whether he was on the field or not. 

[Shaw66]

52 minutes ago, SCBills said:

 

Moore, Shakir, Palmer with a healthy Kincaid slots everyone into their true roles and with Palmer at the 3, playing outside with the ability to stretch the Defense opposite Moore.. that’s a very formidable receiver group regardless of what Keon and Bell bring to the table. 
 

I have zero reason to believe he can stay healthy though.  He had stuff like this going on in LA as well.. which is exactly what Chargers fans told us when we signed him.  

I think your first paragraph is pretty much on the money. It's a good starting group, and as you say if keon and or Bell produce then there is a lot of talent that the bills can put on the field. 

 

As for your second paragraph, I'm not sure where all of this negativity about Palmer's availability comes from. I think it's more a false impression that people have.  I think it's typical for an NFL wide receiver to be available for 13 to 16 games a year. They all get dinged. They all suffer injuries to the ankles and knees that cause them to miss games here or there or to miss parts of the season.

 

Palmer has been in the league for 5 years, he dressed for every game as a rookie, and after that season he dressed for 16, 10, 15, and 12 games. That's not bad, and as this article seems to point out, he had a pretty freaky injury that caused him him be unavailable for a chunk of last year and the off-season. 

 

I get that his record is not one of true durability, but that doesn't make him unusual. I liked what I saw of him last year. He's one of those guys who's good at making himself available to Josh when the pass rushers are closing in, and that's a very important skill when you have a quarterback like Josh. 

 

I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do this season. Maybe it will be more of the same, available this week and not available next week, but I'm happy to wait and see. He's a talented guy, and as some people are pointing out in this thread, pairing him with Moore and Shakir will give the Bills tremendous variety at wideout and in the slot.

[H2o]

I'm hoping Bell emerges throughout TC, as well as during the preseason, and that relegates Palmer to spot duty, same as with Keon. 

[jahnyc]

While I hope that Palmer fully recovers and has a great season for the Bills, I am not optimistic that this will be the outcome.  This sounds like a tough injury and if he is only now getting fully heathy, I am not sure how he will hold up once he faces the physicality of live play.  I also think we need to be realistic about his potential contributions even when healthy.  He was not a difference maker for a weak group of Chargers WRs, so I am not expecting him to be more than a #3 and more likely a #4 WR for us.

[YoloinOhio]

26 minutes ago, PetermansRedemption said:

Add me to the list who didn’t even know he ended the season injured. Didn’t much matter, he was invisible whether he was on the field or not. 

Yeah he came back vs Tampa but was ineffective so they shut him down to get healthy 

[MasterStrategist]

Just now, YoloinOhio said:

Yeah he came back vs Tampa but was ineffective so they shut him down to get healthy 

specifics on the injury behind the paywall?  "Ankle" is all that I recall being mentioned.

 

From the timeline/still recovering, wondering if he had to have a "tightrope" procedure --- similar to Zack Moss in 2021.

[T.E.]

I was rewatching the highlights of that Baltimore game in Week 1, and he and Coleman both made huge plays down the stretch and looked like they were going to be an awesome duo last year. Whoops.