Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills are preparing to face the New Orleans Saints this Sunday in their first NFC battle of the young season. The Saints are desperate for a win, and the Bills’ defense is hungry to show those outside the building that talk about lacking talent is too soon and off the mark.
Buffalo hasn’t fired on all cylinders defensively through the first three games, but they are part of a 3-0 start where in two games the maligned group caused turnovers that served as the turning point in victory. There’s hope that in the coming weeks things will improve as injured (and suspended) players return to the field.
Notably, rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston hopes to make an impact sooner than later, after missing extensive time due to a tricky LCL injury. Hairston escaped the worst in avoiding an ACL injury, but a four-game stint on Injured Reserve (IR) means that he isn’t eligible to return to the active roster until Week 5 at the earliest.
In suffering the injury on July 29, 2025, just six days into his first training camp, Hairston’s missed so much important on-field time that it’s anyone’s guess as to when he will be ready. That’s something head coach Sean McDermott expressed to the media this week, stating of Hairston:
“He’s working and moving in the right direction. I don’t know how many weeks it’ll be. You’ve got to remember now, Max has been out since whatever day or week in training camp. So all the physical part, yes, but also the mental part of the playbook and those things. So right now I think it’s lowering expectations and managing them and just taking it one day at a time and seeing when and if he can come back.”
Unlike veteran players who just need to get back up to game speed, Hairston must manage both that and learning the playbook/defense, and adapting to a level of competition he’s yet to face. Encouragingly, Hairston has been seen doing increasing levels of work off to the side during practices, but he’s yet to take part in any sort of organized game setting, preseason, late-game reps in a blowout, or otherwise.
That means outsiders should heed McDermott’s advice in managing expectations of Hairston in the near future, and perhaps even later into the year. Does that mean Hairston could essentially end up “redshirting” his rookie season? Avoiding speculation, time will tell. If history is any indication, McDermott expects rookies to earn their spot on the roster, and the field — and that mean Hairston will play when the time is right.
One can imagine this has been a difficult experience for Hairston, who likely planned on the playbook hurdle and challenge of winning a starting spot, but not overcoming injury before he had even adapted to life as an NFL player.
As Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic noted, McDermott “said he didn’t want to cast doubt, and the hope is he can, but they can’t rule...
