Buffalo Rumblings
Tyler Rapp won’t play, but Taron Johnson and Matt Milano will.
Before Friday’s practice, Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott announced that safety Taylor Rapp would not play in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Rapp has been a non-participant at practice all week due to a hip injury he suffered in Sunday’s divisional round win.
Rapp will most likely be replaced by rookie Cole Bishop, who has been getting reps with the starting defense all week. Bishop has recorded 40 combined tackles, 23 of them solo, and a forced fumble this season. Now he could be called on to stop Travis Kelce.
Or it could be Damar Hamlin that fills that space with Bishop playing further back and keeping an eye on Xavier Worthy who has caught at least four passes in each of the Chiefs last eight games. In last week’s 27-25 win over the Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo chose to have Hamlin playing close to the line and disrupting both Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson in the backfield.
It’s also important to note that on Monday, when Rapp’s injury first became a topic of discussion at One Bills Drive, McDermott said that under no circumstances would veteran Micah Hyde be being called up from the practice squad and taking the field this week. That means that if Buffalo wants an “insurance” safety, it will be Kareem Jackson that will be one of this week’s two practice squad elevations announced on Saturday afternoon.
The good news for defensive coordinator Bobby Babich who is tasked with scheming a plan to stop Patrick Mahomes and his array of weapons is that both Matt Milano and Taron Johnson will be available. On top of the Rapp news, McDermott announced that the pair would be full participants in Friday’s practice.
Milano is dealing with a hamstring injury that occurred late last week’s game and has kept him limited all week, although the Bills head coach described it as “hamstring soreness” rather than an “injury” on Monday. Johnson has a shoulder subluxation that happened on Sunday. In true Taron Johnson fashion, the Bills’ nickel cornerback only missed one play before rejoining the action. Wednesday, the seven-year veteran was listed as a full participant, although the Bills did only conduct a walkthrough practice. On Thursday, Johnson was downgraded to a limited participant, but according to McDermott he will be back in full today.
The other injury news surrounds cornerback Christian Benford who suffered a concussion as the Ravens attempted an onside kick in the final minutes of last week’s game. Benford will remain in protocol but will be absent from practice. The absence is not a setback in his attempt to get on the field Sunday,...
