Just hours after announcing that linebacker Matt Milano could miss most of the upcoming season with a torn pectoral muscle, the Buffalo Bills got another scare at linebacker.
Buffalo News reporter Katherine Fitzgerald noted that second-year linebacker Dorian Williams was forced to leave the team’s joint practice with the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 15. Though Williams had to spend time with the team’s athletic trainers on the sidelines, he gave an assuring update after practice ended.
Williams is expected to take on a more significant role after Milano’s injury, which strained an already changed defense that lost a number of key players from last season including cornerback Tre’Davious White and safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.
Dorian Williams Speaks Out
Though Williams gave a scare when he was forced to leave the team’s practice on Thursday, he gave a strong hint that the injury would not be serious.
“I’m great. I’m great,” Williams told reporters afterward, via Fitzgerald on X.
The injury scare came shortly after Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Williams would need to “step up” after Milano’s injury. Williams appeared in all 17 games as a rookie in 2023, starting two games. He made 40 total tackles with two quarterback hits.
McDermott stressed that it would take the collective efforts of the team’s other linebackers to fill in for Milano, with Williams expected to play an important part in that.
“Dorian’s going to do a good job,” McDermott said, via SI.com. “He’s been making progress and it’s not only his time to step up, but all of his teammates around him to step up. It’s not just one person’s job to fill the void, or try to fill the void left by Matt. You’re never going to replace a player like Matt or Matt’s influence, but now it’s time for our team to move forward in a resilient manner and pick each other up. Guys like Dorian have to step up.”
Bills Could Lose Matt Milano for Months
Milano was initially forced out of the team’s practice on Wednesday, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Thursday that he could be out for the majority of the upcoming season.
“ESPN sources: Bills Pro-Bowl linebacker Matt Milano, who left Tuesday’s practice injured, tore his bicep and now will be out indefinitely,” Schefter wrote on X. “Milano will undergo surgery on his torn bicep with the hope of trying to return later this season, possibly in December.”
Milano had been working to return from a fractured leg that cut short his 2023 season in Week 5. McDermott said the All-Pro linebacker had been making good progress and was able to return to the field in training camp, but was held out of the team’s first preseason game on August 10.
McDermott said the work Milano had put in to return from last year’s injury made the latest setback even harder.
“That’s probably one of the hardest pills to swallow right now, is we just saw him work his butt off … and now this happened,” McDermott said, via The Associated Press. “He’s resilient and we’ve got to be resilient. We’ve got to move forward and be focused on solutions.”
Bills Suffer Another Injury Scare at Linebacker After Matt Milano Goes Down