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The Buffalo Bills are close to getting Tre’Davious White back from a torn ACL, but his exact return will have to wait at least one more week.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott announced on Wednesday that White would not be able to play in Sunday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers. White was taken off the physically unable to perform list and returned to practice before the team’s Week 6 game against the Kansas City Chiefs, but has not yet been able to rejoin his team on the field.
While White won’t be able to play this week, the Bills have shared an optimistic outlook that his return is coming very soon.
White Remains Out
Speaking to reporters on October 26, McDermott said that White won’t be ready to face Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in their Sunday Night Football matchup. The Bills coach did note that White remains on track.
“He’ll play when he’s ready; he’s progressing,” McDermott said. “There’s a lot of variables that factor into it, but I just think it’s one day at a time. He will play when he’s ready. We have a lot of trust in Tre and a lot of trust in our medical team.”
The Bills have taken a cautious approach to injuries, and McDermott said they don’t want to rush White back when he’s not fully ready. While some NFL players in recent years have been able to dramatically cut down the recovery time from ACL tears — an injury that has traditionally taken a full year of rehab — others have suffered bounce-back injuries when returning too soon.
Overall, McDermott said the team is confident with the track of White’s rehab.
“There is no hesitation in our mind at all about what he’s going to be able to do when he gets back,” McDermott said. “It’s just more of taking this one step at a time.”
There were more good signs of White’s progress. He was seen at Wednesday’s practice without the red non-contact jersey, marking another significant step toward his return.
Big Test for Bills Rookies
With White still not back in the lineup, Sunday’s game could be the biggest test of the season for the team’s pair of rookie cornerbacks. First-round pick Kaiir Elam and sixth-round pick Christian Benford have split time opposite starter Dane Jackson, helping to give the Bills one of the league’s top defenses.
The pair earned the praise of defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, who said it has helped to have two new cornerbacks the team can rely on in White’s absence.
“I think our guys have done a good job of withstanding some of the pressures of being a corner, and then being a rookie at the same time,” Frazier said, via the Buffalo News. “Now, we’ve kind of rotated them both to kind of bring them along, and I think that’s been beneficial.”
But Frazier said it will be an even bigger boost when the All-Pro cornerback is able to return to the field.