We've known for quite some time that Buffalo Bills cornerback Terrence McGee is injury-prone. Coming into the 2011 season, McGee had missed 12 games in a two-year span, and hadn't completed a full 16-game schedule since his rookie season of 2003.
On his first snap of the regular season, McGee injured his hamstring against the Kansas City Chiefs; in effect, that cost him the first five games of this year. He'd return to make five straight starts, but according to head coach Chan Gailey, McGee's season is now likely over after a patella tendon injury sustained in yesterday's 35-8 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
McGee was injured late in the third quarter on a Davone Bess touchdown reception that made the score 28-3 in favor of Miami. There did not appear to be much physical contact on the play, but McGee crumpled to the ground after the play. The knee injury is apparently significant enough that it'll cost him the final six games of the season.
Buffalo's cornerback play has generally been atrocious this season. In the brief amount of time that he was healthy, McGee - though not without coverage issues of his own - was considered the Bills' most consistent corner. He is, however, 31 years old. He doesn't fit the size prototype (see (6'0", 200-pound rookie Aaron Williams) that the Bills covet in their cornerbacks. We've covered the injury-prone thing. We know the Bills can be frugal in some ways, and McGee's scheduled to make $8.2 million in base salary over the final two years of his current deal in 2012 and 2013.
What does all of that add up to? Let's just say it wouldn't be surprising if we've seen McGee's final game in a Bills uniform.
If the Bills weren't officially reeling at cornerback before losing McGee, they are now. The team had just benched Leodis McKelvin, and don't appear confident enough in him to put him back into the lineup just yet. Drayton Florence has struggled mightily giving up the big play, but he's locked in as a starter at this point. Williams is taking his lumps as a rookie, but could become a starter with McGee shelved. Don't be surprised if the team turns to rookie seventh-round pick Justin Rogers in nickel packages until they figure out what they want to do with McKelvin.