The Buffalo Bills have a long list of players who will practice in a limited fashion on Wednesday, but only one player will miss the day’s session in full due to injury. Defensive end Shaq Lawson, who did not play last week against the Los Angeles Chargers, will miss practice today due to the same hamstring injury that sidelined him last weekend.
Also missing practice today are veterans Lorenzo Alexander and Kyle Williams. Head coach Sean McDermott said that both men are taking scheduled rest days, so their status for Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings is not in any doubt.
Practicing in a limited fashion are LeSean McCoy (ribs), Phillip Gaines (elbow), Kelvin Benjamin (hip), Ray-Ray McCloud (knee), and Taron Johnson (shoulder). With Vontae Davis’ sudden retirement last weekend, monitoring the status of both Gaines and Johnson wll be of tremendous importance. McCloud has not played since the preseason, and if he is healthy enough to make his NFL debut, he might be in line to serve as both punt returner and slot receiver.
Benjamin’s hip ailment is new information, as the veteran receiver played the whole game against the Chargers. If he and MCCloud are both unable to play this weekend, then the Bills will be scrambling for receiving help, as the team’s only other receivers are Zay Jones, Andre Holmes, Robert Foster, and Cam Phillips.
McCoy is dealing with much more than a rib injury at the moment, as fresh allegations of child abuse came out yesterday from the mother of his child. From a pure football standpoint, McDermott seemed optimistic that McCoy would be ready to play Sunday. His status will be worth monitoring in more ways than one as the week progresses.