Week 9 Injury Report (2023): Buffalo Bills vs. Cincinnati Bengals

The Buffalo Bills are 5-3 after a close call against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week. CB Kaiir Elam went on Injured Reserve this week due to a lingering ankle injury. Apparently, he has been dealing with this injury since training camp. Also on Buffalo’s IR are CB Tre’Davious White, LB Matt Milano, DT DaQuan Jones, RB Damien Harris, and TE Dawson Knox.

Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bengals enter the game extremely healthy. Their QB Joe Burrow was ailing early in the season with a calf injury but appears fully healthy now. There are no significant players on their IR, and only backup DT Josh Tupou will miss the game. Their QUESTIONABLE list for this matchup is headlined by starting RB Joe Mixon and includes backups LB Akeem Davis-Gaither and G Max Scharping.

OUT

LB Baylon Spector

After being placed on the IR to start the season with a ‘hamstring’ injury, Spector played on special teams Week 6 against the Giants. In his second game back, against New England, he injured his hamstring again. He will be sidelined once again. Generally, players miss about two weeks for a hamstring strain, but Spector appears to be taking longer due to his recent history (1). Spector has not participated in any practice the past two weeks and will miss his second straight game this Sunday.

LB AJ Klein

Klein saw his first action of the season in Week 8 against the Buccaneers. He played solely special teams during the game and was not listed on the Buffalo Bills’ initial injury report this week. However, he sustained a ‘back’ injury, which likely occurred sometime after Wednesday’s practice. He did not participate in practice on Thursday or Friday and will miss Sunday’s game. It is unclear at this time if this will be a short-term or long-term injury.

Also Listed

QB Josh Allen

Josh Allen has been dealing with a right shoulder injury since Week 6. Based on the mechanism, Allen is likely dealing with a mild AC joint sprain to his throwing shoulder. Usually, QBs take about 17 days to return to play, so he is well ahead of the norm (2).

In Week 8 against the Buccaneers, Allen initially appeared to be much better health wise. He was using his legs again and even had a designed QB run on their second play from scrimmage. However, he needed to go into the medical tent in the second quarter after a routine fall to the ground.

Josh Allen and the team have been vocal that all is well, but he could continue to aggravate his injury over the next few weeks. Wednesday marked the first practice Allen did not participate in since the injury and, surprisingly, happened in a week they had extra rest from play on a Thursday the week prior. I wouldn’t be worried how Allen looks starting a game, but whether he can continue to finish strong with his ailing shoulder.

TE Quintin Morris

Morris suffered an ‘ankle’ injury during the Giants game. The mechanism of injury appeared to be a high ankle. These can carry a recovery time of around 2.5 weeks (3).

Morris will be virtually three weeks removed from his injury entering the matchup against the Bengals. He was able to ramp up from limited participation on Wednesday to back-to-back full practices on Thursday and Friday. He is expected to play this week in a reserve role and is likely not 100% healthy yet.

CB Christian Benford

Benford was not listed on the injury report until Friday, where he logged a limited participation for a ‘hamstring’ injury. He does not carry an injury designation, so this is likely not a strain. Potentially, he just experienced tightness. Regardless, having this pop up on a Friday is concerning. It will be interesting to see if he has any setbacks in the game this Sunday. The Buffalo Bills are ultra-thin at CB right now with Tre’Davious White and Kaiir Elam on the IR and newcomer CB Rasul Douglas still learning the playbook.

S Damar Hamlin

Damar missed Wednesday’s practice with an ‘illness’ but returned to full participation the rest of the week. The significance of Hamlin returning to Cincinnati needs no explanation, but it will be interesting to see if the Buffalo Bills activate him for this game as he has been a healthy scratch most of the season.

Citations

1. Beaulieu-Jones BR, Rossy WH, Sanchez G, Whalen JM, Lavery KP, McHale KJ, Vopat BG, Van Allen JJ, Akamefula RA, Provencher MT. Epidemiology of Injuries Identified at the NFL Scouting Combine and Their Impact on Performance in the National Football League: Evaluation of 2203 Athletes From 2009 to 2015. Orthop J Sports Med. 2017 Jul 24; 5(7): 2325967117708744. doi: 10.1177/2325967117708744. PMID: 28812033; PMCID: PMC5529031.
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.
3. Miller BS, Downie BK, Johnson PD, Schmidt PW, Nordwall SJ, Kijek TG, Jacobson JA, Carpenter JE. Time to return to play after high ankle sprains in collegiate football players: a prediction model. Sports Health. 2012 Nov; 4(6): 504-9. doi: 10.1177/1941738111434916. PMID: 24179590; PMCID: PMC3497944.

Featured Image Credit: Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images