The Buffalo Bills defense, already down to just four healthy edge rushers to start Sunday’s game against the Dolphins in Miami, was forced to play with only three for most of the game after rookie Landon Jackson suffered an injury that ruled him out with 11:33 remaining in the first quarter.
Jackson later appeared on the Bills bench on crutches with a brace on his right knee, according to WHAM-TV sports anchor Dan Fetes.
Jackson was the Bills’ third-round draft pick this year, 72nd overall, out of Arkansas. But the 6-foot-6, 264-pounder had seen little action in his rookie campaign with six healthy scratches.
He played 16 defensive snaps and five on special teams against the New England Patriots in Week 5, and another 12 plus five on special teams the following week against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Bills lost both games, their only two defeats of the season prior to the Miami game.
Jackson History of Knee Injuries
Jackson was helped off the field Sunday after video showed him grabbing at his knee.
“On a second-down play, Miami Dolphins running back Jaylen Wright tried to push for the first down,” recounted SB Nation Bills reporter Rachel Auberger. “Jackson was seen on his back clutching his knee. After the whistle blew, the rookie edge rusher ripped his helmet off as trainers came to his aid.”
The 22-year-old has a history of knee injuries, though until Sunday none in the professional ranks. He suffered an ACL tear to his left knee in his sophomore year at Pleasant Grove High School in Texarkana, Texas.
In his freshman season at LSU, Jackson’s season ended after five games with another left ACL tear that required surgery. He entered the transfer portal and moved to Arkansas the next year, playing three seasons for the Razorbacks.
May Be Injury to Different Knee Than Previously
After leaving Sunday’s game early in the first quarter, Jackson was quickly ruled out, leaving the Bills’ defense shorthanded once again, according to NFL Network reporter Cameron Wolfe.
“Not a great look here,” wrote Dr. Kyle Trimble, who monitors Bills injuries on his Banged Up Bills social media account and website. “Hard to tell what he did based on the angle available to the right knee.”
If Trimble is correct and the injury is to Jackson’s right knee, it would appear to be a new injury rather than an aggravation of the left ACL injuries he suffered in high school and college.
With the Bills already missing Michael Hoecht, out for the season with a torn Achilles, and AJ Espensa, the injury to Jackson leaves only 2024 fifth-round pick Javon Solomon to team with Joey Bosa and Greg Rousseau in the Bills edge rushing rotation.
More Bill Defense Injuries
Bosa missed practice in Wednesday with a wrist injury and appeared to be wearing a cast or some some sort of a hard brace on his left wrist and hand.
The Bills defense appeared to have suffered yet another blow when cornerback Tre’Davious White landed on his left shoulder while making a tackle later in the first half.
White exited the game and was seen walking toward the medical tent.
But White was cleared to return and did, in fact, re-enter the game, according to Joe Buscaglia, Bills reporter for The Athletic.
Bills Defense Gets More Bad News During Dolphins Game