The Buffalo Bills, fielding mostly backup players, romped over the Cleveland Browns 31-7 in a Week 2 preseason game Saturday at Huntington Bank Field.
The Bills now face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday in an attempt to wrap up the preseason undefeated.
In the Browns game, the Bills suffered a notable injury to rookie offensive lineman Jude Bowry, and on Monday they received an update on where the fourth-round draft pick stands with the injury.
Bowry arrived at Buffalo Bills practice Monday wearing a walking boot, extending a foot injury that first surfaced during the weekend win over Cleveland.
With no official diagnosis and preseason winding down, the rookie fourth-round tackle’s practice status has become an open question for a Buffalo line that’s otherwise settled.
Bowry sat out Monday’s session entirely, not practicing and in a walking boot on his left leg, according to The Athletic‘s Joe Buscaglia. ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg confirmed the same boot on Bowry’s left foot, placing him among a group of sidelined Bills that included Connor McGovern, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger, Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir and Ed Oliver.
Jude Bowry’s Injury Timeline
The issue traces back to Saturday, when Bowry left the field for the medical tent and did not return to his right tackle spot. Chase Lundt replaced him at right tackle, according to a Democrat and Chronicle report, and Bowry sat out the rest of Buffalo’s offensive series.
Coach Joe Brady offered no specifics on the injury. No degree of severity, timeline or formal designation has been attached to it as of Monday afternoon, and preseason injury reports remain voluntary rather than mandatory, meaning Buffalo isn’t obligated to clarify Bowry’s status until the club so chooses.
What Bowry’s Absence Means for Buffalo’s Offensive Line
GettyBills fourth-round 2026 draft pick Jude Bowry.
Buffalo took Bowry in the fourth round, 102nd overall, out of Boston College, where he started 23 of his 31 career games, mostly at left tackle. He allowed just two sacks in 321 dropback snaps as a junior and captained the Eagles as a senior, playing all nine of his starts that year without surrendering a single sack.
He signed a four-year, $5.7 million rookie deal in June. General manager Brandon Beane made clear the pick wasn’t just about tackle depth.
“The good thing about Jude, he’s not just a tackle. We do believe he can come inside and compete at the guard position, so we like his versatility,” Beane said, as quoted by Sports Illustrated.
Bowry has worked primarily as Buffalo’s second-team left tackle behind Dion Dawkins, with Spencer Brown holding down the right side, Connor McGovern at center and O’Cyrus Torrence at right guard. The left guard job remains a competition between Alec Anderson and Austin Corbett.
None of Buffalo’s projected Week 1 starters are in question. What thins out is depth if Bowry is absent. Chase Lundt and Tylan Grable are the other reserve tackle options, and neither has shown the consistency to be a finished product yet against backup competition this preseason.
Bowry, at 6-foot-5 and 314 pounds, tested as one of the more athletic tackles in this year’s draft class, posting a 5.08-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. Buffalo viewed that profile as a foundation to build on, which is why he landed in a reserve role behind Dawkins and Brown as a rookie rather than an immediate starting competition.
Bills Get Jude Bowry Injury Update After Browns Preseason Game