The Buffalo Bills rested many of their starters in last week’s season finale win over the New York Jets, but still could not avoid some significant injuries.
Now, the team is being hit with another injury setback at practice — one that comes just days before they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. The team announced the final injury report before this Sunday’s wild-card round game, noting a setback for edge rusher Joey Bosa.
Joey Bosa Limited at Final Practice
The Bills on Friday announced injury status for their final practice of the week, noting that Bosa was downgraded to a limited participant. He had previously been listed as a full participant while dealing with a nagging hamstring injury.
Bosa had been dealing with some soft tissue injuries throughout the season, dating back to the team’s practices in the spring. He is a major part of their defense, with the Bills relying on him to generate pressure on Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Maddy Glab, reporter for the team’s official website, noted that the Bills already ruled out three key players for Sunday’s game. That includes rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston, who suffered an injury late in the team’s 35-8 win over the Jets on Sunday.
“Bills head coach Sean McDermott has ruled out three players for Sunday’s AFC Wild Card game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. LB Terrel Bernard (calf), CB Maxwell Hairston (ankle) and S Damar Hamlin (pec) are the three who won’t play,” Glab reported.
Glab’s report noted that none of the three came as much of a surprise, with both Hairston and Bernard working through significant injuries and Hamlin just entering his practice window after spending months on injured reserve.
“Bernard and Hairston did not participate in Wednesday or Thursday’s practices. Hamlin’s window to return from Injured Reserve was opened this week but McDermott said he is not ready yet. The safety was a limited participant for Wednesday and Thursday’s practices.”
McDermott faced some criticism for Hairston’s injury, which came late in the blowout win over the Jets. But the Bills coach explained that the team didn’t have enough reserves to pull Hairston from the game, despite the team’s big lead.
Bills Get Some Positive News
The Bills also had some good news on the injury front, with kicker Matt Prater showing progress after being knocked out of last week’s win over the Jets with a quad injury.
“Thought he did some good things yesterday,” McDermott said of Prater. “We’ll see where and how he trends heading into the weekend.”
McDermott added that veteran linebacker Shaq Thompson is also on track to play against the Jaguars despite an official listing as questionable.
“He should be good,” McDermott said. “He’s dealing with some bumps and bruises…Nothing really of a setback just managing his practice today.”
But McDermott was less sure on running back Ty Johnson, who missed the team’s practices on Wednesday and Thursday. The Bills head coach said the team would evaluate Johnson’s status after practice on Friday.
If he is unable to play, the Bills could call up running back Frank Gore Jr. from the practice squad.
Bills Hit With Bad News on Joey Bosa Just Days Before Playoff Game