Getty Von Miller #40 of the Buffalo Bills dances during practice on August 05, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York.
Von Miller said earlier this week that he hoped to be back from a knee injury in a little over a week, but the Buffalo Bills apparently had other ideas.
The Bills announced on December 1 that Miller was headed to injured reserve, keeping him out for at least the next four games and freeing up a roster spot during his absence. Miller was hurt in the team’s 28-25 win over the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving, with initial fears that he may have suffered a season-ending ACL tear. While the injury didn’t turn out to be so serious, the All-Pro edge rusher will still be missing for a critical stretch of the season.
Bills Explain Surprise Move
With Miller headed to injured reserve, the Bills will now be without his services until at least Week 17 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Though Miller had just one day prior expressed hope to be back for the Week 14 game against the New York Jets, Bills general manager Brandon Beane explained on Thursday that the team didn’t want to hurry his recovery process.
“We don’t want to rush him back,” Beane said, via Syracuse.com’s Matt Parrino on Twitter. “This gives us a chance to go ahead and count tonight’s game and three more on injured reserve. And hopefully we can get him back for the stretch run.”
Beane went on to say that while Miller may have wanted to come back sooner, the medical staff advocated for a more careful approach.
“The competitor in him – if (Von) could wheel it out there tonight, he would do it,” Beane said, via Parrino. “We just think in talking to the medical people that the best decision right now is to give this time, and that gives him the best opportunity to help us down the stretch.”
Bills Getting Healthier
Miller is not the only Bills starter dealing with an injury. The team announced on Wednesday that left tackle Dion Dawkins would also miss Thursday’s game against the Patriots, and tight end Quintin Morris was questionable with an illness.
But overall the team has gotten healthier after dealing with an early spate of injuries. All-Pro cornerback Tre’Davious White was able to return for the first time this season, playing in the Thanksgiving Day win over the Lions. White had suffered a torn ACL in the team’s Thanksgiving game last season and started the season on the physically-unable-to-perform list.
White only appeared in two series in the November 24 win, but head coach Sean McDermott said the team plans to gradually increase his workload.
For the first time this season, Tre’Davious White is active!
“I think he got two series – about 15 to 20 plays, I don’t have a total count on what it ended up being,” McDermott said, via a report from Syracuse.com. “But that was in the range of what we thought. And now let’s build on it.”
Fellow cornerback Dane Jackson said it was a big boost to the team just having White back on the sidelines.
“Just to see him out there just gives me that extra like, I don’t know, it’s hard to explain,” he said. “He’s just so much of a leader on our team. All the young guys really look up to him. Just to have him out there just gives you that extra boost for sure.”