Getty Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs warms up at Gillette Stadium on December 01, 2022.
Already facing a series of key injuries on the defensive side of the ball, the Buffalo Bills could now be at risk of losing a big part of their offense as well.
The Bills added wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Week 10 injury report on November 10, noting that he was a limited participant in practice after suffering a back injury.
Diggs had not been listed on the report earlier in the week, and it remains to be seen whether he could be at risk of missing their game against the Denver Broncos on Monday night.
Big Season for Stefon Diggs
It could be a significant blow to the Bills if Diggs is unable to play on Monday, or even limited by the injury. The All-Pro receiver is on pace for a career-best season, making 70 catches for 834 yards with seven touchdowns through the first nine games.
The Bills have struggled on offense at times over the course of the last several games, though Diggs has been a model of consistency, making at least six receptions in every game this season and topping 100 yards in five of the team’s nine games.
Diggs has also been vocal about the team’s struggles, growing heated on the sidelines during the team’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and saying after the game that the team needed to shape up on offense.
“You work hard in practice and the carryover is supposed to be, alright, you go have fun now,” Diggs said, via ESPN. “… We were kind of like just not as, you know, ‘Let’s go get it; let’s get after it,’ you know what I’m saying? We were trying to figure it out. But that lack of sense of urgency, it showed, and then we get in that mode of not necessarily rushing, but more like, ‘OK, we got a score,’ you saw that.”
Bills quarterback Josh Allen stood behind Diggs at the time, saying his competitive spirit was good for the team.
“He’s a competitor; he’s a fiery competitor. I’m tired of hearing all this nonsense from people,” Allen said. “There’s a lot of guys in the league that have that same fire that don’t get talked about. He’s a lot of our juice on the sideline, making sure the offense is staying up and as energized as possible and we feed off of that.”
Bills Hit Hard By Injuries
Even if Diggs is able to play on Monday, the Bills will still be without a number of key players on defense. They already lost three of their best players — cornerback Tre’Davious White, linebacker Matt Milano and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones — to long-term injuries, and could be missing some other important players for Monday.
Both of the team’s starting safeties, Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, were listed as non-participants for Thursday’s practice. Second-year cornerback Christian Benford was also unable to participate, and linebacker Terrel Bernard was listed as limited after being placed in concussion protocol during the team’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Despite the injuries, the Bills could still have a good chance to rebound against the Broncos. Heavy projections powered by Quarter4 give the Bills a 71% win percentage against Denver with a point spread of -6.