The Buffalo Bills will be heading into their divisional round game against the Denver Broncos without two key members of their secondary, including a starting safety.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott announced on Thursday that safety Jordan Poyer would be ruled out for Saturday’s divisional round game, while rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston is still out after being hurt in the season finale.
Poyer’s absence will force the Bills to dig deep into their bench for the game with a trip to the AFC Championship game on the line.
Bills Could Turn Back to Damar Hamlin
Though Poyer will miss his second straight game, the team announced that fellow veteran Damar Hamlin could be ready to return after a long stint on injured reserve.
“Safety Damar Hamlin (pectoral), who had his practice window opened last week, is expected to be a full participant and questionable for the game,” the team announced.
The Bills could also turn to versatile defensive back Cam Lewis to play opposite Cole Bishop, who settled in alongside Poyer and had a breakout season in 2025.
At cornerback, the Bills will continue to lean on veteran Tre’Davious White, who had been splitting time with Hairston opposite Christian Benford. White had a strong performance in last week’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, breaking up three passes including one that Bishop snagged for the game-clinching interception.
Some Key Returns for the Bills
Despite losing a pair of defensive backs, the Bills are set to get back a series of key players who have been dealing with injuries. The team’s official website noted that running back Ty Johnson is trending in the right direction after missing last week’s win over the Jaguars.
“McDermott said he’s taking a ‘similar approach to last week’ in regards to running back Ty Johnson who missed the Wild Card game and hasn’t practiced this week with an ankle injury,” the website noted. “Johnson hasn’t been ruled out and the team is planning to evaluate him more leading up to the game. He will be limited in Thursday’s practice and questionable for the game.”
Johnson was the first Bills running back to miss a game due to injury this season, forcing the team to turn to Frank Gore Jr. from the practice squad.
The Bills have some key players headed back on defense as well. Aside from Hamlin, defensive tackle Ed Oliver also returned from injured reserve and is listed as questionable.
The team does face a challenge as they must play on short rest, having beaten the Jaguars on Sunday afternoon. The Broncos earned the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC and are coming off a bye week in the wild-card round.
After losing wide receivers Gabe Davis and Tyrell Shavers to torn ACL injuries, the Bills got a good sign on another versatile receiver, noted Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk.
“While [Ed] Oliver will be a limited participant on Thursday, Samuel will be a full participant,” Simmons wrote. “That’s a positive sign for Samuel’s potential availability, which is good news for a receivers group that suffered multiple injuries last week.”
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