The Buffalo Bills will play their second preseason game of the year on Friday night, heading 3 hours west on I-90 to take on the Cleveland Browns. The matchup will provide fans of both teams with a glimpse at some familiar faces, as former Bills starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor will make his first appearance against his former team. Also expected to play against his former squad is new Bills wide receiver Corey Coleman, acquired via trade less than two weeks ago.
There are a few players on each side who are currently dealing with injuries, and while there is no official injury report released during the preseason, practice availability reports provide some insight as to who might have to miss a game. Here is the list of players for each team who did not practice on the final work day prior to the game.
Buffalo Bills
DE Trent Murphy
WR Brandon Reilly
WR Ray-Ray McCloud III
WR Kelvin Benjamin (limited; no team drills)
The Bills are relatively healthy at this point, but the biggest name here is definitely Benjamin, who had a fantastic game against his former club, the Carolina Panthers, in Buffalo’s preseason opener. Benjamin did not participate in team drills on Wednesday, and Mike Rodak tweeted that Benjamin had a large ice pack on his right knee after practice. Benjamin tore the meniscus in his right knee last season when the Bills faced the Los Angeles Chargers. Hopefully, the ice and the limited practices over the past few days is nothing more than precaution, but it’s definitely cause for concern in the interim.
Murphy has dealt with a nagging groin injury since even before the Bills’ matchup with the Panthers. While he returned to practice briefly after the Carolina game, he only made it through one full practice (Sunday, August 12) before leaving early the following day after he appeared to re-aggravate the injury.
Brandon Reilly is dealing with a rib injury he suffered in the game against the Panthers; he has been sidelined since the game. Ray-Ray McCloud practiced in a limited fashion, sitting out of team drills and wearing a red non-contact jersey for the drills in which he could take part. The team has not provided any word as to what his injury may be.
Cleveland Browns
C JC Tretter
RG Kevin Zeitler
TE Julian Allen
TE Seth DeValve
DE Emmenuel Ogbah
DL Caleb Brantley
DL Trevon Coley
DL Marcell Frazier
DB Montreal Meander
FB Danny Vitale
Some of the aforementioned group was referred to by Daryl Ruiter as the “Berea Bike Brigade,” as they were unable to do anything but condition via the exercise bikes on the sidelines at practice. Ogbah, DeValve, Tretter, and Allen sat out of practice for rest, so it’s likely that they will play on Friday night. Of that group, only Allen (abdomen) was listed with an injury designation by Ruiter.
Brantley (ankle), Coley (ankle), Frazier (concussion), Meander (concussion), Vitale (calf), and Zeitler (calf) all are currently working back from injuries, and they may be limited or held out of the game entirely as a result.