Getty Bills linebacker Matt Milano at MetLife Stadium on September 11, 2023.
Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano was forced to leave practice early on August 13 after suffering an injury, a setback for a player who has spent much of the last year fighting to return from a season-ending injury in 2023.
Reporter Alex Brasky noted that Milano had to leave the team’s Tuesday practice with what appeared to be an injury to his left arm. He was unable to return.
“Former All-Pro LB Matt Milano exited positional drills during #Bills Tuesday practice due to an apparent left arm injury,” Brasky wrote on X. “Athletic trainers spent time looking at his bicep/elbow area, Milano tested the injury a bit but did not return”
Former All-Pro LB Matt Milano exited positional drills during #Bills Tuesday practice due to an apparent left arm injury. Athletic trainers spent time looking at his bicep/elbow area, Milano tested the injury a bit but did not return #BillsMafia
Reporter Sal Capaccio of WGR 550 noted that Milano remained on the field and did not have to be taken to the locker room, but did not return to practice.
“Milano watched all of the rest of practice on the sidelines. He came in with the rest of the team, not earlier or later,” Capaccio wrote on X.
Matt Milano Returning from Major Injury
Milano had been on track to return from a fractured leg that ended his 2023 season. In May, head coach Sean McDermott shared some praise for the work Milano had been doing to rehab and return from the injury.
“Credit to Matt and what he’s been able to do with our training staff,” McDermott told reporters.
“The work he’s put in, he’s so focused. He was focused before this. I feel like he is even more focused, if that’s even possible, now.”
McDermott said at the time that Milano was on track to return to the field by training camp.
“Hopefully, he’s at a spot where when we open up, he’s available,” McDermott said. “It’s just a matter of putting it one day at a time and trying to put practices back to back.”
Milano was able to meet McDermott’s deadline, taking the field with his teammates in training camp, but was held out of the team’s first preseason game on August 10.
The All-Pro linebacker had been a cornerstone of the team’s defense and was on pace for a career-best season in 2023 when he was injured. Milano made 30 total tackles and two interceptions through five games last season.
Bills Hit Hard By Injuries
The Bills have suffered a number of other key injuries at training camp, including veteran quarterback Shane Buechele who suffered a neck injury in the team’s 33-6 preseason loss to the Chicago Bears. McDermott hinted that Buechele could be out for an extended time, and the Bills signed former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Ben DiNucci to help fill in.
The Bills also lost veteran wide receiver Chase Claypool to a toe injury, placing him on injured reserve on August 13. As ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg reported, Claypool had been out since initially suffering the injury on July 28.
As Getzenberg added, the Bills could have a chance to bring Claypool back at some point later in the season if he recovers.
“A new league rule allows teams to designate two injured players on the final 53-man roster who can return later in the season, but those designations have to be made by cutdown day on Aug. 27,” Getzenberg wrote. “If the Bills and Claypool agree to an injury settlement, he would later have the opportunity to re-sign with the Bills or another team. But if he remains on IR, he will not play this season.”
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Bills Get Injury Scare as All-Pro LB Matt Milano Forced to Leave Practice