Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs isn’t going to let an ailing back keep him from taking the field on Monday night.
After he was a surprise addition to the injury report on Friday, Diggs told reporters on Saturday that he would be in the lineup for the team’s matchup against the Denver Broncos on November 13.
“WR Stefon Diggs said ‘100%’ when asked if it’s his expectation to play on Monday,” ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg reported on X, formerly known as Twitter. “He said that being limited in practice yesterday and sitting out today was more proactive than reactive.”
Diggs also offered some new insight on the injury, which had not been disclosed before the team announced that he was limited in practice on Friday. While the Bills will have their top receiver on the field, they could be forced to play without a number of key members of their defense.
Stefon Diggs Explains Injury
As Getzenberg reported, Diggs suffered the injury in the team’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on November 5 and said he was limited in practice as a precautionary measure.
“Diggs described it as a little bit of maintenance and said that the back injury was something that lingered from the game vs. the Bengals,” Getzenberg wrote, adding, “Diggs said that he stretched at practice [on Saturday], but not much else.”
The Bills have already been playing without one top target after tight end Dawson Knox was placed on injured reserve. Rookie Dalton Kincaid has taken on a bigger role, and since Week 7 has the second-most receptions in the league among tight ends with 23.
“I think that he’s been able to win his matchups and we’ve been able to get him involved and he’s had more opportunities the past few weeks being the primary tight end,” Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, via the team’s official website. “He’s been able to take advantage of that and has done a great job for us. We expect that he’ll continue to grow and become what we think he can be, which is a complete tight end because he’s also done some good things on the blocking end as well, so he’s more than just another receiver out there.”
Bills Hurting on Defense
The Bills have been shorthanded on defense as well, losing linebacker Matt Milano, cornerback Tre’Davious White and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones to season-ending injuries. The Bills were bit by the injury bug again this week, with safety Micah Hyde and cornerback Christian Benfore being ruled out and linebacker Terrel Bernard listed as questionable on the final injury report.
Micah Hyde and Christian Benford are out for Monday’s game.
#DENvsBUF injury report: t.co/um4QGHB8fu
Despite the injury setbacks and inconsistent play in recent weeks, bills head coach Sean McDermott said he believed that they could turn things around.
“(I’m) confident,” McDermott said. “Confident in our team. Confident in our coaches. Confident in our players. Confident in our staff. It doesn’t mean we don’t have work to do. It doesn’t mean we don’t have a gap to close. And so, we’ve got to continue to drill down on those areas and play better as an overall team, complementary-wise and reset some things that we need to reset.”
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Bills WR Stefon Diggs Makes Definitive Statement on Availability for MNF