Bills LG Connor McGovern’s status for Saturday’s preseason finale in question

During Wednesday’s team practice, left guard Conner McGovern came out of a pile up with a leg injury, and now it looks as though the Buffalo Bills’ offensive line is beginning to resemble swiss cheese. McGovern’s injury is just the latest blow to a unit that’s trying to patch holes in several places.

McGovern was seen being attended to by trainers, and, while he never left the sidelines, he also was inactive for the remainder of the practice. Adding to cause for concern, he was seen wearing a full leg sleeve while watching his teammates complete the days’ drills.

When he met with members of the media before today’s practice, head coach Sean McDermott confirmed that McGovern would not be practicing in the team’s final day of work before their preseason finale with the Chicago Bears on Saturday. And in true McDermott form, when questions as to whether the injury would be long term, his reply was anything but direct.

“We’ll see how it goes,” McDermott said. “Right now it’s just too early to tell how he’s gonna come back from it, but we’ll see how he does.”

With McGovern’s status in question and Tommy Doyle out for the season after last week’s gruesome in-game injury both compounded by the sudden retirement of Brandon Shell, the Bills’ front line is looking thin — and that could be a problem. General manager Brandon Beane recognized that the offensive line was a weak point on the team and sought to build depth this offseason with the acquisition of both McGovern and Shell, and drafting O’Cyrus Torrence in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

It’s going to be an interesting five days as the Bills finish up preseason and move to the August 29 cut day. Will they need to keep an extra lineman or two to make up for the missing pieces? Do they think McGovern will get healthy enough for their September 11 2023 season opener? It’s anyone’s guess, and it won’t do any good to ask McDermott. He’ll likely just say “We’ll see.”