Buffalo Rumblings
Things aren’t looking great for LB Terrel Bernard and WR Curtis Samuel
After a blur of activity last week, it’s back to business as usual for the Buffalo Bills as they prepare for their Week 8 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks. While their initial injury report looked lengthy, the good news is that as the week’s progressed the majority of everyone is back to work.
Here’s a look at how the injuries are trending ahead of Friday.
The good news is that linebacker Dorian Williams had a full day of practice. With the status of linebacker Terrel Bernard uncertain right now, having Williams will be important for Bills. Add in that nickel cornerback Taron Johnson is following the same pattern of practice he has for the past two weeks, indicating that, despite being a red jersey today, he should be there to help the middle of the defense, and it’s good news for Buffalo.
Safety Damar Hamlin is coming off a game where he had five combined tackles, a pass defense, and an interception — so keeping him in the game building that chemistry with safety Taylor Rapp will be beneficial as the midpoint of the season arrives.
As for Hollins and Kincaid, they — like Johnson — were still limited and in red no-contact jerseys, but that’s how they practiced last week as well (and the week before for Hollins). So, barring a setback, we can assume that we’ll see them in uniform in Seattle on Sunday.
Everyone here practiced Thursday — although limited. For Smoot it was a step up; for Carter and Knox it was more of the same. We really have to wait until Friday to see if they make any more progress before deciding if they’re in or out for Sunday.
On Wednesday, head coach Sean McDermott said that he considered Bernard as day-to-day with the ankle injury he picked up during the Bills’ win over the Tennessee Titans. However, he has now been excused from practice for personal reasons for the second consecutive day. Unless he has a good day of practice tomorrow, it would be hard to see how the team’s training staff could evaluate his recovery.
As for wide receiver Curtis Samuel, he left Sunday’s game early with a shoulder injury. Since he hasn’t been active since, it’s highly likely that he will be ruled out of this week’s game — possibly even early on Friday.
