The Buffalo Bills are four days away from playing against the San Francisco 49ers, and four is the number of noteworthy injuries on Thursday’s practice report. In other words, the Bills have come a long way from the unit of walking wounded that stumbled through the middle months of the season—aided by a late bye week that allowed the team to recover from nagging injuries.
With the Bills playing a Monday Night Football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 13, Thursday’s report is technically the “first” practice report of the week. Also, keep in mind that the report won’t list players like John Brown (ankle), currently on Injured Reserve. That extends to Matt Milano (pectoral) and Tyrel Dodson (hamstring), who were designated to return but haven’t been activated yet. Both Milano and Dodson were seen practicing, in their regular “full contact” jerseys, by the media on Thursday.
Turning to the practice report, the lead story is Josh Allen (knee/ankle), who (it goes without saying) is Buffalo’s most important player. Allen was a full participant in practice, which suggests that he’s working through his recovery from the mild sprain. There’s no concern about his availability this week or moving forward.
Offensive lineman Jon Feliciano (foot) was also a full practice participant. The Bills had another fantastic day of rushing with Feliciano in the lineup, so it’ll be good to see him in action again this week.
Two specialists were limited participants with hamstring injuries—Taiwan Jones and Reggie Gilliam. Jones missed Weeks 9 through 11 with a hamstring injury, then returned to play against the Los Angeles Chargers. Gilliam hasn’t missed a game yet. With a limited status today, it’s too early to say whether either player will or won’t be available on Monday.
The only other bits to note are Mario Addison (knee/veteran rest, as he’s been listed all season long) and Jake Fromm (still practicing separated from the team. Suddenly doesn’t look like a dumb idea anymore). That’s it! If everything goes well through the weekend, the Bills could have their roster at full strength, with John Brown and Cody Ford the only exceptions, going into the quarter pole of the season.