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After suffering a serious injury just seven snaps into his season, Buffalo Bills cornerback Taron Johnson could have a return date in sight.
Johnson suffered a forearm fracture in the team’s season-opening win over the Arizona Cardinals and has missed the last two games, but avoided a trip to injured reserve. The team’s top nickel cornerback told The Athletic’s Buscaglia that he hoped to be back by Week 5.
“I caught up with Bills NCB Taron Johnson today. He said he broke his forearm in Week 1, though it wasn’t a clean break — more of a crack,” Buscaglia shared in a post on X on September 25. “Typically a 4-to-6 week return timeline for players. He hopes to be back for the Week 5 Texans game but isn’t sure at this point.”
Bills Rule Out Immediate Return for Taron Johnson
The Bills have already ruled out Johnson for their Sunday night matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, with head coach Sean McDermott saying he will not be ready to take the field. The Bills could be even more limited in the secondary as reserve cornerback Kaiir Elam suffered a neck injury and was limited in practice on Thursday, though McDermott said he would be able to play against the Ravens.
The team also added that linebacker Terrel Bernard won’t play against the Ravens, but could be on track for a return.
“The good news for Bernard is that he was a limited participant in Thursday’s practice where he wore a red non-contact jersey in individual drills during the viewing session available to the media,” reporter Alec White noted on the team’s official website. “McDermott said that Bernard is expected to continue participating in drills Friday.”
Bernard also told The Athletic’s Buscaglia on September 27 that he could be ahead of schedule for his injury’s normal rehab timeline and ready to join Johnson back on the field by Week 5.
“I hope so,” Bernard said about the potential return date, via Buscaglia on X. “It’s hard to put a timeline. That would be awesome if it is. I’m going to do everything in my power to try and make it out there, but we’ll kind of see how it goes.”
The Bills have injuries on the other side of the ball as well, placing offensive lineman Tylan Grable on injured reserve earlier in the week.
Bills Filling in for Injured Stars
Despite the injuries to Bernard and Johnson — and having already lost top linebacker Matt Milano during training camp — the Bills have managed to put together one of the league’s top defenses. After giving up 28 points in the Week 1 win over the Arizona Cardinals, the Bills held both the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars to just 10 points.
Buffalo’s opponents are averaging 16.0 points per game and 286.7 total yards per game, putting the Bills in the top 10 for both categories.
Some of the fill-ins have turned in big performances, including former practice squad cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram who snagged two interceptions in the win over Miami, including one he returned for a touchdown.
