Getty Bills offensive lineman Tommy Doyle.
Months after fighting back from an injury that ended his 2022 season, Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Tommy Doyle has suffered another major setback.
Doyle was carted off the field in the team’s preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 20, and the following day head coach Sean McDermott revealed that he had suffered another season-ending injury.
Coach McDermott: Tommy Doyle will be out for the season. We’re all thinking about him right now.
Here’s to a speedy recovery, @freestylefalcon. ❤️💙
Doyle’s injury is now the second unexpected loss for the Bills’ offensive line in a matter of days, as veteran lineman Brandon Shell had announced earlier in the week that he would be retiring.
Tommy Doyle’s Difficult Path in the NFL
The Bills did not go into specifics regarding Doyle’s condition, but it was immediately clear that the injury was serious. Doyle’s knee appeared to hyperextend while he was engaged in pass coverage during the third quarter of Saturday’s game, and teammates gathered on the field to show support as he was carted off the field.
Doyle joined the Bills as a fifth-round pick in 2021 and appeared in 11 games in his rookie season, catching a touchdown pass in the team’s 47-17 win over the New England Patriots in the playoffs that season. He suffered a setback in his second season, tearing his ACL in a September loss to the Miami Dolphins.
The Bills had suffered a number of other injuries during that game, and Doyle played until the end without realizing that he had suffered a season-ending injury.
“We get done with the game and you know, I knew that he had had a knee injury or a leg injury,” head coach Sean McDermott said at the time. “I go back on the plane on the way home just to check on the guys and I said ‘Tommy, how you doing?’ he’s like, ‘Ah, I’m fine, it’s nothing.’ And then next morning, I get the communication from our training staff that has a torn ACL and he’s out for the season.”
Bills Need Help at Offensive Line
After losing Shell and now Doyle in a matter of days, the Bills will likely need to look outside the organization to add more depth at offensive line.
McDermott hinted that there could be some additions and that the team would need to address the issues that arose in Saturday’s 27-15 loss to the Steelers.
“We remain confident in the guys that we have. That said, there’s certainly a numbers issue. Let’s start there,” McDermott said, via John Wawrow of The Associated Press. “So we’ve got more practices ahead. And it’s an area that we’ve got to continue to look at it and analyze.”
As Wawrow noted, the Bills are down to just one backup offensive tackle with previous NFL experience, David Quessenberry. The Bills held workouts for a pair of offensive linemen this week, Quinton Barrow and Garrett McGhinn, but had not yet signed anyone to fill in.
Some insiders suggested the Bills could look at a reunion with veteran left tackle Jason Peters, who is planning to return for another NFL season at the age of 41. Peters started his career with the Bills in 2004 as an undrafted free agent, starting as a tight end before being converted to tackle.
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Bills Suffer Setback as Key O-Lineman Ruled Out for Season