Greg Rousseau injury considered week to week; Bills-Vikings availability in doubt

Along with losing the game on Sunday, the Buffalo Bills lost yet another player to what seems like an ankle-sprain epidemic in Orchard Park. As the Bills fell to the New York Jets—narrowing their lead for the division title to just a half game—so did defensive end Greg Rousseau.

Rousseau left the game, with what is now being classified as a high ankle sprain, in the second quarter of Sunday’s game at MetLife Stadium. When the Bills went to the locker room, they announced that the second-year defensive end was questionable to return. Rousseau, who had 20 tackles and five sacks going into Week 9, didn’t return in the second half, and now is listed as week-to-week with the injury.

“We’ll miss Greg in the time that he’s gone,” head coach Sean McDermott said today when meeting with members of the media. “He was having a good season.”

McDermott was quick to address the rest of the ailing Bills, saying that they are all trending upward.

“The rest of the guys are really improving—whether it’s Tre’ White, (Matt) Milano—they are all improving,” the coach said, before adding his usual mantra that there is nothing more to add. “We are just taking it one day at a time. We’ll see how this week goes.”

McDermott did not specifically address right tackle Spencer Brown, who fell victim to the Bills ankle sprain plague in Week 6, or safety Jordan Poyer, who is struggling with an elbow injury. Neither Brown or Poyer were active in yesterday’s loss to the Jets, but neither were White or Milano (oblique). It could be inferred by his “the rest of the guys” comment that Brown and Poyer are improving, as well.

When McDermott was asked why White, who was added to the 53-man roster on November 1, wasn’t active on Sunday, he was very blunt.

“He’s not ready yet,” he said about the Pro Bowl cornerback; when pressed about the plan for getting White back on the field, he reverted back to his ”day to day” mantra. “We’re taking it one day at a time. No setback has occurred.”

Of course, most questions in today’s media session were geared toward quarterback Josh Allen and the possible injury to his throwing elbow, but McDermott stayed closed-lipped.

“I’ll know more in the next 24 hours,” he said, and also that he knows nothing about the medical side of what is happening with his quarterback. He later added that he knows the type of player he is. “We all know Josh and how competitive he is. I would never count him out. That’s the one thing I know.”

As the Bills prepare to play host to the Minnesota Vikings Sunday, they are undoubtedly in need of some good news in the injured personnel department, and it’s likely that staff will be holding their breath along with all of Bills Mafia as they await Wednesday’s update.