The Buffalo Bills’ injury report is as sprawling as ever, three days before they play against the top team in the NFC, the Seattle Seahawks. A whopping 17 players were listed on Thursday, and the majority were limited from practice in some way. A couple key starters are now uncertain to play against the Seahawks, but the Bills can probably count on Micah Hyde to return from his concussion. Hyde, who missed the last game against the New England Patriots, was a full participant on Thursday, which suggests he’s about to clear the concussion protocol.
The Bills did re-activate Dawson Knox from the COVID-19 reserve list. But lest we forget, Knox is still dealing with a calf injury. He was limited in his return to practice, and we don’t know how soon he’ll return.
Several players, dealing with injuries, were listed as “did not practice” on Wednesday and Thursday. On that list: Darryl Johnson (knee), Taiwan Jones (hamstring), Matt Milano (pectoral), Mitch Morse (concussion), Josh Norman (hamstring), and T.J. Yeldon (back). Consider these players to be doubtful to play at this point, given that a good Friday practice isn’t usually enough to make up the difference.
One positive development is Cody Ford (knee) practicing in a limited fashion for the past two days. He’d spent the previous two weeks not being able to practice at all. This is a positive trend, but it’s probably too early for his return to the field. The Bills will still be wary, because in addition to Ford and Morse’s injuries, Brian Winters (knee) is also working through an injury of his own. He’s been listed for a couple weeks now, and was limited on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. So far he’s gutted out each game, which the Bills will be grateful for—they really don’t want to be starting both Ike Boettger and Ryan Bates if they can avoid it.
Quinton Jefferson (knee) managed to play last week, but has been limited in practice both Wednesday and Thursday. His teammate Vernon Butler (groin) missed the Patriots game, but is trending in the right direction—he practiced fully on Thursday.
The last injuries of note are Jerry Hughes (foot) and John Brown (knee). Both players missed Wednesday’s practice, but practiced in full on Thursday. They’re probably good to go for this weekend, but it’s not a great sign for Brown that the Bills are still managing his practice reps. He hasn’t looked 100 percent yet in a game since his initial injury a month into the season.