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The Buffalo Bills will be heading into Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans without a key member of the offensive line after a mishap at practice this week.
Starting guard Jon Feliciano has been ruled out for this week after he suffered a concussion during practice on Wednesday, the team reported on Friday, Oct. 1. The injury will be a blow to the offense, which has leaned more heavily on the rushing game this season and had a breakout performance in last week’s blowout win over the Washington Football Team.
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Next Man Up for the Bills
As Matt Warren of SB Nation’s Buffalo Rumblings noted earlier in the week, before the Bills officially declared Feliciano out for Sunday’s game, the injury is a major concern for the team going forward. Concussions can come with a long recovery time and the added complication of the league’s concussion protocol, which mandates all the steps a player must progress through before they can return to play.
“Feliciano’s is the most concerning as he was diagnosed with a concussion. It apparently happened during Wednesday’s practice and because of the necessary turnaround time, he won’t be able to play on Sunday,” Warren wrote. “It’s likely that Ike Boettger will get his first start of the season. We may even see a Jamil Douglas call up from the practice squad.”
Re-signing Feliciano was one of the biggest offseason priorities for the Bills, who were able to keep the guard from leaving in free agency with a three-year deal worth $17 million — lower than what many predicted he could fetch on the open market.
Bills Offense Plays Best Game of the Season
This is now the second year that Feliciano could be forced to miss significant time due to injury. He missed seven games last season after tearing a pectoral muscle, though Nick Fierro of SI.com’s Bills Central noted that he was quite efficient during his time on the field — not allowing a sack in the 758 snaps made after his return.
An extended absence could hurt the Bills. Fierro ranked Feliciano as the team’s 15th most important player heading into this season, noting that he has been one of the more versatile linemen for the Bills, lining up at both center and guard since joining the team from the then-Oakland Raiders in 2019.
Feliciano’s injury comes just days after the Bills addressed lingering questions about the effectiveness of their offense. The Bills racked up a total of 481 yards in the 43-21 win over Washington, with quarterback Josh Allen having the best day of his season. He completed 32 of 43 passes for 458 yards with four passing touchdowns to go along with a rushing score. More importantly for Feliciano and the rest of the offensive line, Allen was not sacked at all, an impressive feat against one of the league’s better defensive lines.
It’s not clear how much time Feliciano could miss, as the NFL concussion protocol includes a five-step process with no set timetable. Once Bills team doctors have cleared him to return to play, Feliciano must be separately cleared by an independent doctor.
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