Report: Bills don’t plan to shut down Sammy Watkins, WR likely to play through pain

Updating the New York Daily News’ report on Sammy Watkins, Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network tweeted the following, which should come as a positive for the Bills and their star wideout:

Sammy Watkins reportedly hasn’t re-injured his surgically repaired foot, but he’s dealing with pain, per Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.

There were reports swirling that the Buffalo Bills wide receiver was not 100 percent this summer. First came the news of his quiet offseason surgery to repair a broken foot. Watkins spent much of the summer on the sidelines, slowly working his way back from the surgery. The word all along was that the team wanted to be cautious and give him ample time to heal, knowing that these foot injuries could lead to nagging problems.

Watkins finally made it into a preseason appearance in Week 3, apparently healthy and working on his game conditioning, although he failed to catch any passes. He made his debut in the Week 1 game against the Ravens, catching four of six targets for 43 yards, but Adam Schefter gave an ominous pregame report that Watkins was “far from 100 percent.”

Now we’re finding out that Watkins’ injury state may be worse than expected:

Mehta’s source notes that X-rays taken after the game “did not reveal another break,” but he is playing with “severe discomfort” in his foot. He also notes that “there is no surgical remedy for the issue at this time,” so Watkins is going to avoid going under the knife any more for this problem. It’s possible that things might be better if he could have it taken care of quickly, but this is something he’s going to have to manage through other means.

This is the second preseason injury to pop up again like a hydra with its head cut off. Cordy Glenn missed most of the preseason with a sprained ankle, only to aggravate the ankle injury against the Ravens. That doesn’t bode well for an offense that finished at the bottom of the barrel in Week 1.