Sammy Watkins was pulled from practice at the last minute on Wednesday, leading many Buffalo Bills fans to question his toughness, the coaching staff, the training staff, Doug Whaley and his scouting staff, and probably much more than that. But Sammy practiced on Thursday, so it’s probably okay now, right?
#Bills OC Anthony Lynn said Sammy Watkins took only three snaps during practice today. "He's not 100-percent."
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) December 1, 2016
Rex- Watkins looked good today. Did a lot. Barring a setback expects Watkins to be up on Sunday. #Bills
— Chris Brown (@ChrisBrownBills) December 1, 2016
I’m confused now. How is “three snaps” the same as “Did a lot”? Anythony Lynn talked more at length about Watkins injury, so we’ll go with that.
“The guy has a broken bone in his foot,” said Lynn. “He’s tough, he’s very determined to stay on the football field and help us win games, but he has a broken bone in his foot. It’s a pain tolerance deal and I think he’s tough as hell playing through it.”
Watkins is expected to play on Sunday and the pain he was feeling against the Jacksonville Jaguars kept him in on only half of Buffalo’s offensive snaps. Still, he was able to come away with a nice chunk of yardage and a big play. Lynn shared his frustration with the uncertainty of Watkins’ availability.
“I don’t know if he’s going to play one play or 20 plays,” said Lynn. “(Tyrod Taylor) definitely has a trust factor with Sammy, so if he’s open he’s going to him and we’re trying to put Sammy in those positions. We’ll just see how big his role is. I’d like to keep him in the whole time, but I can’t say.”
Watkins could be shut down at some point in the future if the pain does not subside. Still, like many of us, Lynn puts a silver lining on it:
“I’m just thankful for any time he can give us.”