The Buffalo Bills are locked into the AFC two seed, which means that this weekend when the team travels to Foxborough, MA they could rest a lot of key players for the Week 18 finale against the New England Patriots. Injuries have been an issue for the Bills in recent seasons, many coming at pivotal points of the campaign.
Right now, Buffalo doesn’t have any starters on the Injured Reserve (IR) list. But they do have a lengthy daily injury report of players needing an array of treatments for the bumps, bruises, sprains, strains, and even fractures that come from a long NFL season.
Here’s a look at this week’s injury report as the Bills and Patriots open Week 18 practices with walk-throughs.
New Buffalo Bills names on the Week 18 Injury List
- LB Terrell Bernard (quad)
Bernard played the first three quarters of the Bills 40-14 win over the New York Jets in Week 17. Like the majority of Buffalo’s starters, the defensive captain sat out the final quarter and made room for some of the roster’s depth players to get some live-game experience.
Nothing was ever mentioned in game about Bernard being injured, which would indicate that what’s wrong is not likely to be anything too serious, like a strain. However, McDermott did say that Bernard will not play on Sunday unless the team needs him due to other injuries that pop up between now and then (it’s important to remember that the Bills have one of their depth linebackers — Baylon Spector — back on IR).
McDermott said that Bernard is somewhere between “day-to-day” and “week-to-week,” and all Bills fans are hoping desperately for the former as Buffalo’s defensive signal caller missed last year’s playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs and the results were anything but positive. With Bernard getting rest, it appears to be Joe Andreessen who’ll get the start, and McDermott said that he expects Andreessen, who had 26 defensive snaps and led the team in tackles (8) last week, to be on the field quite a bit Sunday.
Buffalo Bills players now off injury list in Week 18
None. All of the Bills getting medical attention are still considered “injured” and receiving treatment. This isn’t really that surprising as the season is long, and rest time is short. This could play into a lot of “who plays how long” and “who doesn’t play at all” decisions that Buffalo’s coaching staff will be making later this week.
Buffalo Bills players on the Week 18 injury list in need of monitoring
- S Damar Hamlin (rib)
- DB Cam Lewis (shoulder)
- S Taylor Rapp (neck)
- WR Curtis Samuel (rib)
Everyone on this list was limited in Wednesday’s walk through practice. They were also limited all last week. Despite that, Lewis and Rapp were active on Sunday, with Rapp playing 100% of Buffalo’s 63 defensive snaps and Lewis getting 28 snaps. The fact that they’re limited again/still isn’t surprising. However, their status for Sunday could very much be in question — between not needing a win and wanting to be fully healthy for the playoffs. If Hamlin doesn’t play, it will be his fourth straight game on the inactive list.
Buffalo Bills players who are status quo on Week 18 injury list
- QB Josh Allen (right elbow/shoulder)
- T Spencer Brown (neck)
- DT DeWayne Carter (wrist)
- CB Rasul Douglas (knee)
- TE Dalton Kincaid (knee)
- P Sam Martin (back)
- LB Matt Milano (biceps/groin)
- TE Quintin Morris (shoulder/groin)
- DT Jordan Phillips (back)
- DE Dawuane Smoot (wrist)
- LB Dorian Williams (elbow)
While the training room at One Bills Drive is quite full, the good news is that Rasul Douglas and Matt Milano don’t seem to be suffering any setbacks after they both played over half of Buffalo’s defensive snaps in Week 17.
As for the New England Patriots, their injury list is lengthy as well. However, unlike Buffalo, only one name on their report was listed as a full participant. Here’s a quick look at what the Bills’ Week 18 opponents are dealing with this week.
New England Patriots not practicing
- WR Kayshon Boutte (illness)
- C Ben Brown (concussion)
- CB Christian Gonzales (concussion)
- WR Ja’Lynn Polk (shoulder)
New England Patriots limited in practice
- S Kyle Dugger (ankle/quadriceps)
- TE Hunter Henry (foot)
- OLB Anfernee Jennings (knee)
- DE Titus Leo (ankle)
- QB Drake Maye (right hand)
- FS Jabrill Peppers (hamstring)
- DB Brenden Schooler (abdomen)
- LB Sione Takitaki (knee)
- OLB Jahlani Tavai (groin)
- OT Caedan Wallace (ankle)
The name that stands out most on this list is that of quarterback Drake Maye, who’s throwing hand is something of concern. Maye has been seen flexing his right hand at times over the past several weeks, but nothing specific has been documented. In the Patriots’ loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17, Maye was pulled from the game for a head check but only missed one series. Before practice, New England head coach Jerod Mayo said that he had no intention of benching Maye and that he would be playing to win, despite the fact that a loss could give New England the number-one pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
New England Patriots on Injury Report but full participants
- LB Curtis Jacobs (concussion)
Jacobs is still working in his 21-day practice window as he tries to return from a stint on IR. Jacobs suffered a head injury before Thanksgiving when the Patriots lost to the Los Angeles Rams.
There’s plenty to watch for over the next two days as the Bills and Patriots finish their practices and preparations for Week 18. The biggest questions will center around the playing time of both Allen and Maye, but which of Buffalo’s safeties and linebackers will be starting is also likely to be the topic of a lot of conversations over the next few days.
