The Buffalo Bills will be without their two best quarterbacks this Sunday, as it’s highly unlikely Josh Allen or Derek Anderson will be able to play due to injuries. Nathan Peterman will start in their place and newly-signed Matt Barkley will presumably be the backup.
Anderson suffered a concussion in Monday night’s game against the New England Patriots. He wasn’t even on the field doing light non-contact work, so he is still far the field. He would need to participate in conditioning work before being able to do full contact, passing all the tests along the way. It’s highly unlikely that will happen by Sunday.
Allen, meanwhile, is dealing with a sprained elbow ligament. Head coach Sean McDermott gave the first bit of meaningful comments on his rookie quarterback’s return today, saying Allen “isn’t too far off” from throwing the football. Whether that means he sees the field next week against the New York Jets or in a few weeks after the bye is still undetermined.
ALso in the concussion protocol is rookie linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. Unlike Anderson, Edmunds was on the field doing light work today. If he passes the neurological tests today and can participate in practice and pass tomorrow’s tests, he could actually suit up Sunday. It’s still more likely than not that he misses the game, but the door is at least open.
Defensive end Trent Murphy missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday this week and has been out since leaving the game against the Indianapolis Colts on October 21st. He’s labeled as “week to week” with his knee injury. He’s unlikely to suit up.
Limited in practice Thursday were Kyle Williams and Lorenzo Alexander. The 35-year-olds have been given rest days all season. We expect both of them to play on Sunday at this point.
For the Chicago Bears, Khalil Mack didn’t practice Wednesday and our affiliate Windy City Gridiron thinks they might give him the week off because Buffalo’s offense is so bad. That would be disappointing considering he played his collegiate football at the University at Buffalo.
Wide receiver Allen Robinson is dealing with a groin injury and tight end Eric Kush has a neck stingers. Lineman Kyle Long is going to be out.