Buffalo Rumblings
When he returned to Buffalo, Tre’Davious White told reporters to not be surprised if he was a starter on Week 1. The veteran cornerback was thankful for a chance to be back with the Buffalo Bills, the team that made him a first-round draft pick in 2017. Two season-ending injuries and a season bouncing between West Coast and East Coast teams means it’s been a long time since White was the Bills’ starter in game one. And it looks like that won’t be the case this year either.
While White was listed first at the CB2 slot on the Bills depth chart, he has been dealing with a groin injury since the end of camp and, after not practicing all week, is officially listed as doubtful on the Bills final injury report. That means it’s going to be up to rookie Dorian Strong and veteran Ja’Marcus Ingram to fill in the void opposite Christian Benford, who has also been dealing with a groin injury but was a full participant in the last two practices of the week. (They could also elevate CB Dane Jackson, who has starting experience with the Bills, from the practice squad.)
Also entering the weekend with an official designation are DeWayne Carter and Tyler Bass. Carter is no surprise as the Bills moved him to Injured Reserve earlier this week after he had surgery to repair a torn Achilles. Bass has also been moved to IR, after dealing with what is now being called a hip and groin injury.
With Bass out, it will be veteran kicker Matt Prater who will be handling the kicking duties in Buffalo (although running back Ray Davis is always an option as backup kicker). Prater is in his nineteenth season in the NFL, has two Pro Bowl selections (2013, 2016), and is fifteenth on the NFL’s all-time scoring list with 1808 points.
The good news for Buffalo is that wide receivers Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir are a go for Sunday. Shakir has practiced all week after missing the entire month of August with an ankle injury. Coleman has a groin injury, that McDermott said took place in training camp and was aggravated by overuse, that kept him limited for the early part of this week. However, on Friday, the Bills 2024 second-round draft pick was a full participant and entered the weekend without any designation for game day.
The Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo’s opponent for the league’s first Sunday Night Football game of the year, have also ruled out a pair of offensive players – although neither come as much of a surprise.
Both Isaiah Likely and Patrick Ricard have been inactive all week – all month in fact. Likely broke his foot in July and had surgery to repair. While his progress didn’t warrant him starting the season on IR, he still isn’t practicing with the team, and it’s widely thought that it will be another week or two before he is back on the field.
As for Ricard,...
