First look at Buffalo Bills’ injury report for Week 11

It’s time for some good news for the Buffalo Bills, which they just received today when safety Micah Hyde and cornerback Christian Benford returned to practice.

Hyde suffered a stinger in Buffalo’s Week 9 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. There was immediate concern about the extent of the injury considering the 32-year-old safety went through season-ending neck surgery just last September. While he didn’t practice at all last week, and was ruled out a full day before inactives were due for Monday night’s game with the New York Jets, Hyde was back to work today. Though Hyde’s participation was limited today, some work is better than no work and also means this latest injury doesn’t appear to have him headed for another surgery — or worse.

Benford also left the game in Cincinnati early, although he wasn’t exactly healthy when the game started (he was added to the injury list two days before the game). A hamstring injury sidelined the second-year cornerback who won the CB2 job out of training camp and slid over to CB1 when Tre’Davious White’s season ended after just four and a half games. We’ve seen the Bills move a lot of players to Injured Reserve (IR) as they attempt to recover from hamstring injuries, so the fact that Benford is back at practice after just a week’s rest is a good sign. While the Bills brought cornerback Rasul Douglas on board in a last-minute trade with the Green Bay Packers last month, having Benford on the field with him will only make Buffalo’s defense that much better.

Also limited in practice today were defensive back Cam Lewis and linebacker Dorian Williams. Lewis exited Monday’s loss with a shin contusion but re-entered the game before going out a second time. Now he’s listed as dealing with a shoulder injury. Williams is listed with a knee injury, but it wasn’t something that took him out of the game.

The Bills did have two guys not practice today: defensive tackle Jordan Phillips and wide receiver Trent Sherfield. While there isn’t much information available on Phillips’ knee injury, Sherfield left the game before the half and was seen walking cautiously while being escorted to the locker room ahead of the rest of the team. Initially Buffalo announced that the wide receiver was questionable to return, but shortly after the start of the third quarter they downgraded him to out for the remainder of the game.

Other good news for the Bills comes in the names that are not on today’s list. Quarterback Josh Allen is off the injury list for the first time since Week 6 when he injured his throwing shoulder against the New York Giants. Also not on the list are linebacker Terrel Bernard and defensive tackle Leonard Floyd — both of whom were seen at the X-Ray room after Monday night’s game.