Bills provide injury updates on Ike Boettger, Jamison Crowder, and more

Both general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott met with members of the media ahead of Wednesday’s Buffalo Bills practice and discussed some of the injuries that the team has been dealing with this season.

McDermott addressed offensive lineman Ike Boettger, whose 21-day pratice window will close this week, saying that the guard has “worked his butt off” since returning to the team. McDermott also praised the work that Boettger, who tore his achilles tendon in December of last year, did while on the team’s PUP list through the first three months of the season, and even went so far as to say he wouldn’t rule out activating him before Saturday’s game with the Miami Dolphins.

Buffalo’s offensive line has struggled with ankle injuries over the past month, with center Mitch Morse and left tackle Dion Dawkins both having missed playing time. Backup tackle David Quessenberry, who was playing in place of the injured Dawkins in Week 13, played through the entire Thursday Night Football game against the New England Patriots on an injured ankle that kept him hobbled as he tried to gut it out and keep Josh Allen upright. Now the Bills’ line is facing at another divisional game without a healthy lineup, as right guard Ryan Bates injured his ankle in last week’s win over the New York Jets and hasn’t been able to practice yet this week.

Getting Boettger back on the roster could be a big move for the Bills as they try to secure a spot in the playoffs for the fourth straight season. The team could alternatively activate them, then cut him and try to re-add him to the practice squad, in much the same way they did with receiver Marquez Stevenson recently.

During his portion of the press conference, Beane talked about the wide receiver corps, saying that Jamison Crowder — who broke his ankle back in Buffalo’s Week 4 win over the Baltimore Ravens — is improving, and that the team would be open to the wide receiver making a return before the end of the season if he can work his way off of Injured Reserve.

Additonally, Beane said that he feels wide receiver Gabe Davis is still struggling with the ankle injury he suffered during practice before Buffalo’s Week 2 matchup with the Tennessee Titans. Unlike most of the Bills sidelined with ankle injuries this season, Davis only missed one game, and then was back in action — although evidently not at full strength — the following week, when the team fell to the Dolphins in their first divisional game of the season.

Jake Kumerow, who is the receiver used to spell Davis, has been injured twice with an ankle injury this year. Kumerow’s first bout with the ankle-sprain plague saw him miss Weeks 4-6. The fifth-year receiver returned for two games, not making any catches, before the ankle got worse, and the team was forced to place him on injured reserve. As of today, Beane said that Kumerow isn’t ready to return to the active roster.