Getty Tre'Davious White #27 of the Buffalo Bills celebrates after breaking up a pass during the second half of the AFC Wild Card playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts at Bills Stadium on January 09, 2021.
Tre’Davious White is still working his way back from a major injury, but his All-Pro teammate isn’t worried a bit about what he’ll look like once he returns.
The Buffalo Bills have been relatively tight-lipped about the progress of White’s rehab from an ACL tear that he suffered in a November 25 game. While there have been some positive signs about his progress, it remains unclear how much of the regular season he could miss or how long it might take for White to return to 100%.
Despite all the unknowns, Micah Hyde believes that White will be better than ever when he returns.
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Hyde Praises White’s Work
Hyde gave a bit of insight into the work that White has been doing to recover from the knee injury, noting that he’s been working tirelessly. The veteran safety also shared a big prediction about White’s outlook once he finally does return to the field.
“I don’t think anybody understands what he’s been doing in the dark. That boy–he’s been working. I’ve been fortunate enough to see some of the stuff he’s been doing. He’s working. He’s working his a– off. I know I’ll put every single penny I have on Tre’Davious coming back a better player,” Hyde said via video conference. “I’m that confident in him.”
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Bills fans are not likely to get a more substantive update on White for at least a few more weeks. During the team’s OTAs, general manager Brandon Beane said they would have to wait until training camp opens later in July to put a more definite timeline together.
“When we show up for (training) camp, we’ll have a better idea of ‘is he days away or his he weeks away,’ ” Beane said, via The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia.
Replacing White
Until White is able to return to the field, the Bills may need to rely on a rookie to take his place in the secondary. The Bills moved two spots up the board in the first round to take Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam at No. 23, and Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said he will take on a big role right away.
“Frazier says out of the young players Kaiir Elam has stood out and they are expecting him to step up and play well right away,” Bills reporter Maddy Glab tweeted.
As Nick Wojton of USA Today’s Bills Wire noted, Elam impressed the Bills coaching staff in his pre-draft interview when he showed up with a notebook filled with notes from his college career. Elam continued to impress after the Bills drafted him, earning some praise from Hyde for his work ethic after the team’s minicamp.
“You can already tell he listens. He pays attention,” Hyde said during a video conference with reporters. “You can tell as I’m saying stuff he’s taking mental notes. That’s how Tre’Davious was when he first got here. He was battling on the football field which is what Kaiir is doing, but also just learning from his mistakes and learning from the older guys.”
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