Bills injury report: Buffalo without a fullback Thursday

The Buffalo Bills (6-5) were forced to practice without a rostered fullback on Thursday, after both Patrick DiMarco and Mike Tolbert were held out of practice.

DiMarco, who was a full participant Wednesday, sat out Thursday’s session with an ankle injury. He was joined on the sidelines by Tolbert, who is still dealing with a hamstring injury. Tolbert suffered the injury sometime after the Week 10 loss to the New Orleans Saints, and has missed the past two games with the injury.

With both DiMarco and Tolbert sitting out of practice, the options to receive repetitions at fullback are limited. Buffalo does not have another fullback on the roster, and LeSean McCoy and Travaris Cadet are the only other healthy running backs on the 53-man roster. Tight end Nick O’Leary (back) also did not practice, meaning Buffalo might be forced to spread the field on Sunday. At the moment, third/fourth string tight end Khari Lee is the only viable replacement for DiMarco’s blocking on Buffalo’s active roster.

Turning to the practice squad, the only running back is Marcus Murphy, a third-year veteran out of Missouri who has one career rushing attempt and one career reception during his career. Murphy is definitely not a fullback option bu could be called up anyway just for a body in the backfield.

If Buffalo were to look outside the organization, free agent Juwan Thompson would be a logical candidate. He was with the Broncos during offensive coordinator Rick Dennison’s tenure there and, like Tolbert, plays running back and fullback.

In other injury news, wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (knee), left tackle Cordy Glenn (foot/ankle), and guard John Miller (ankle) were also held out of Thursday’s practice. Benjamin, Miller, O’Leary, and Tolbert are listed as day-to-day.

Defensive end Eddie Yarbrough, who missed Wednesday’s practice with a chest injury, returned to the practice field Thursday.

Buffalo welcomes the New England Patriots to town for a 1 p.m. clash Sunday afternoon at New Era Field.