London Game Injury Report: Buffalo Bills vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

The Buffalo Bills are 3-1 and rolling after a rout against the Miami Dolphins. However, those bloody injuries continue to tally up as Bills head to London. The biggest loss of the season happened this past week as Tre White suffered an Achilles tear. He will miss the remainder of the season and the outlook is a load of bollocks.

It’s a bit narky that Tre White is once again intertwined with Von Miller with major injuries. Last year, Tre returned from his 2021 ACL injury, only to see Miller tear his in the same game. Now, with Tre suffering his injury last week, Von Miller was just activated from the PUP list. He is currently in his 21-day practice window before he needs to be activated to the 53-man roster. It would be unlikely he plays in London, but everyone is feeling a bit cheeky as he is traveling with the team.

As for the Jacksonville Jaguars, they will be missing LB Devin Lloyd, OLB Dawuane Smoot, CB Christian Braswell, and WR Parker Washington. Meanwhile, WR Zay Jones, S Antonio Johnson, WR/KR Jamal Agnew, and DL Foley Fatukasi are ‘questionable’.

OUT: DE Greg Rousseau

Groot was listed with a ‘foot’ injury this week, which was surprising because he never exited the game last week. He played 57% of the snaps last week, which is close to his 60% average on the season. Groot appeared to injure his foot late in the 2^nd quarter, when Ed Oliver’s knee trapped the outside of his foot while he was engaged in a block. 

He was DNP all week and will miss this game at a minimum. Based on the mechanism, Groot either has some form of a midfoot sprain or possibly a small fracture in his foot. It bodes well that he was able to finish the game, but this injury could potentially hold him out a few weeks. In the NFL, a grade one midfoot sprain takes about a week, whereas a grade two can take up to five weeks to return (1).

QUESTIONABLE: CB Christian Benford

Benford took a helmet to the ‘shoulder’ pad region when attempting to make a tackle early in the 2^nd quarter of last week’s game. 

He was down on the turf for a while and didn’t returned to the game until Tre White suffered his injury. The mechanism looked like an AC joint sprain, or possibly just a significant contusion to the front of the shoulder. Generally, these can cause 1-2 weeks of missed time (2). For a defender though, it’s all about pain management, so if he can tolerate it, he can play. There is a risk it gets aggravated in the game, so depth at CB may be tested. Benford was limited all week in practice in a non-contact jersey but should be able to play Sunday.

LISTED

S Jordan Poyer

In Week 3, Poyer appeared to tweak his ‘knee’ when Daquan Jones fell on his thigh while his foot was planted in the ground with a bent knee. Poyer was able to stay in that game for three more series after the injury occurred, but likely dealt with the swelling in the aftermath.

He missed last week’s game against the Dolphins but will be back for the London matchup. It will be interesting to see how his knee holds up over the course of the season.

TE Dawson Knox

Knox sprung up on the injury report with a ‘quad’ injury this week. He never came out of last week’s game, but he had his lowest snap count of the season last week with 50%. Knox was averaging 72% entering the game. He was limited in practice all week but will be able to play Sunday. This injury sounds more like a contusion than a strain. He has been banged up a few times already this season, so will be interesting to see his snap count in London.

RB Damien Harris

Harris was listed with a ‘neck’ injury this week. He was limited on Wednesday but was able to quickly ramp up to full participation the rest of the week. He was likely dealing with some soreness from his late game pounding runs. Should not be an issue come Sunday.

Citations

1. Osbahr DC, O’Loughlin PF, Drakos MC, Barnes RP, Kennedy JG, Warren RF. Midfoot sprains in the National Football League. Am J Orthop (Belle Mead NJ). 2014 Dec; 43(12): 557-61. PMID: 25490010.
2. Lynch TS, Saltzman MD, Ghodasra JH, Bilimoria KY, Bowen MK, Nuber GW. Acromioclavicular joint injuries in the National Football League: epidemiology and management. Am J Sports Med. 2013 Dec; 41(12): 2904-8. doi: 10.1177/0363546513504284. Epub 2013 Sep 20. PMID: 24057030.

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