Taron Johnson, who kick-started the Buffalo Bills’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers with a pick-six, had suffered a concussion in the second half of the game. Fortunately, it turned out to be a minor one. Johnson was already back to practicing on Tuesday, and by Thursday’s injury report, he was a full participant and cleared to play in Saturday’s game.
There’s also good news for Tremaine Edmunds (foot), the other defensive starter who came out of the win with an injury. Edmunds was limited in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, but a full participant on Thursday, and the team didn’t put his game status in doubt.
Safety Jaquan Johnson (ankle) still hasn’t been able to practice, and was already declared out of the game. So, too, was John Brown (ankle). Brown was designated to return from injured reserve earlier in the week, but even though he’ll miss this game, he’s still eligible to return in a future week.
The other injury of note is Lee Smith (knee), who was limited in practice all week. The tight end is questionable to play. If he can’t go, the Bills have Tyler Kroft waiting in the wings. Kroft was the team’s most productive tight end earlier in the season, but lately he’s been sidelined for the tandem of Smith and Dawson Knox.
The Broncos are more beaten up than the Bills, most notably at cornerback. The team just placed Duke Dawson and Kevin Toliver on injured reserve with knee injuries, which leaves them with three healthy players at the position. Kicker Brandon McManus is on the COVID-19 reserve list, not likely to play. Key players like Von Miller, Courtland Sutton, and Jurrell Casey are already on injured reserve for the Broncos. In addition to those names, running backs Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay are both questionable, but expected to play. Graham Glasgow (guard) and Trey Marshall (safety) are also questionable.