Injury analysis: Buffalo Bills DT Niles Scott

On the heels of DT Star Lotulelei opting out of the 2020 season, the Buffalo Bills brought in DT Niles Scott. Coming out of Division III Frostburg State in Maryland, he has already overcome great odds to make it to the NFL. Below is his known injury history.

Injury History

Frostburg State

The young defensive tackle has a limited injury history dating back to college, appearing in every game during his four years without any known injury issues.

2018

Following the 2017 collegiate season, he was signed as a UDFA in 2018 by the San Francisco 49ers, failing to make the team out of camp before landing on the Denver Broncos’ practice squad for several months before getting signed to the Cincinnati Bengals’ active roster for six games.

He started the 2019 season with the Bengals but only got several days in before suffering a foot injury. Outside of reports stating that he was in a walking boot, it did not specify how he injured the foot or what type of injury. He suffered the injury on July 31st and was placed on season-ending IR on August 8th, spending the season rehabbing.

Bills Injury Impact

The foot injury he suffered makes this hard to state his chances. We know it is not a Lisfranc injury as he would have likely required surgery and had been non-weight-bearing. It’s possible it may have been a sprain, but a guy fighting for his roster spot would have tried to possibly come back before getting shut down for the season. He possibly broke his foot, realized he wasn’t going to get better in time, and took the IR designation rather than an injury settlement. The Bengals may have also wished to keep him around in order to develop him under the guise of the injury.

It’s hard to say how effective he will be for the Bills. There aren’t any studies to back up how he may respond because there are so few details. He is obviously healthy enough to pass a physical to be signed, but outside of that, he may be a training camp body the Bills get to know in case injuries or COVID-19 hit the position hard.

Considering players may not be brought in from free agency unless there is a roster spot available, this may allow the Bills to get a number of guys they can call immediately to sign instead of bringing in to get up to speed. I don’t foresee Scott making the roster out of camp, but he will possibly be in a Bills uniform or on the practice squad at some point in 2020 due to all the uncertainty and restrictions in bringing in free agents.