Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills wrapped up their week of practice on Friday, now ready to head down to Duval County, FL to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in a playoff rematch eight seasons in the making. Buffalo may have to do so without the help of a few key defensive players, namely a pair of starters who have been ruled out ahead of Sunday’s playoff game.
Linebacker Terrel Bernard has been ruled out this weekend, having dealt with a calf injury that kept him a “DNP” throughout the week. Also ruled out is cornerback Maxwell Hairston, who suffered an ankle injury late in Week 18 against the New York Jets. Hairston also wasn’t able to practice at all this week, which didn’t predict good things for his availability on Sunday. It’s been an injury-filled season for Buffalo’s defensive captain.
Safety Damar Hamlin has also been ruled out as he continues to make his way back to the field following a pectoral injury that landed him on Injured Reserve (IR) earlier in the season. Hamlin just returned to practice this week after an extended time away, so the team is likely to take things slow with him for the time being after he logged a series of limited practices.
Heading into Sunday’s matchup in Jacksonville, Buffalo has designated four players as questionable. Running back Ty Johnson suffered an ankle injury in Week 18, but was able to return to action in limited capacity. In the aftermath, Johnson has only been able to log one day of practice — and as a limited participant. Losing Johnson would be a huge hit for the Bills, as he’s a significant contributor at running back, and especially so during key third-down situations.
Wide receiver Joshua Palmer is also listed as questionable for Sunday, the product of an ankle injury that continues to derail his season. We don’t know the full extent of Palmer’s ankle injury, but for him to continue being listed as either out or questionable to play week to week doesn’t breed confidence that the injury is properly healing on its own.
Kicker Matt Prater is also listed as questionable after reportedly aggravating a quadriceps injury to his kicking leg in Week 18. Prater has stated that he’s ready to go, but the team is likely to proceed cautiously and see how warmups go for him before declaring their starting kicker active or not. Prater had an up and down week of practice, listed as a “DNP” on Wednesday, then as a full participant Thursday, before another “DNP” on Friday. Some of that could be due to the team being cautious so as not to overwork Prater ahead of Sunday.
Linebacker Shaq Thompson has also been given a questionable tag for Sunday. Thompson has been dealing with a neck injury, which rendered him a limited participant each day of practice in the lead...
