ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — If the Bills don’t have a full-blown injury crisis, they’re close.
Sean McDermott did his best not to sound panicked while addressing reporters earlier this week. It’s a reasonable place for him to be.
Is it realistic? Time will tell.
For now, the most drastic result of the lengthy injury list is McDermott’s decision to not play any starters for Saturday’s preseason-finale against the Carolina Panthers at Highmark Stadium.
I have felt right along that not playing Josh Allen after the full quarter he played in the preseason-opener against Chicago was the smart way to go. As it turns out, it will stand as Allen’s only action of the preseason after McDermott changed his mind about having Allen start in last Saturday’s game at Pittsburgh.
It’s also a good thing that no other starters will be exposed to injury in a game that doesn’t count, though the Bills still need to get out of the game Saturday without injuries to reserves given their likely need to lean on depth — especially in the early going.
The most concerning of the injured players is Matt Milano, because the All-Pro linebacker is likely to be out for months with a torn biceps. That, by itself, is a major blow to a team in flux at every level of the defense. Dorian Williams is the next man up, but he doesn’t come close to bringing all that Milano did with coverage skills and ball instincts.
The injury situation doesn’t get a whole lot better with players in the week-to-week category. At the top of that list is wide receiver Curtis Samuel, with turf toe. He’s projected to be the mainstay of a receiving corps that has been shaky at best, so his potential absence into the regular season only raises more questions there.
Another problem at receiver is the fact Marquez Valdes-Scantling is expected to be out multiple weeks with a neck injury. He’s expected to be the true deep threat and also brings a championship pedigree from Kansas City.
The injuries to Samuel and Valdes-Scantling might be a bit less discomforting if the Bills were seeing significant strides from rookie Keon Coleman, who so far has looked every bit like a first-year player finding his way. He has struggled to get off the line of scrimmage and had a short-armed drop for a certain touchdown against the Steelers. He has plenty of developing to do.
About the only member of the receiving corps that provides any sense of hope is slot pass-catcher Kahlil Shakir.
The back end of the defense has been a huge question mark since the departures of two fixtures at safety, Jordan Poyer to Miami in free agency and Micah Hyde in potential retirement from chronic neck issues that have resulted in surgery and multiple scary moments of temporary numbness in his body last season.
Things became even more complicated at safety with a pair of newcomers, free agent Mike Edwards and rookie Cole Bishop, missing time with hamstring and shoulder injuries, respectively. They returned to practice earlier in the week, albeit while wearing red non-contact jerseys, so it’s at least encouraging to see they could be returning to action by the start of the season.
Depth at safety took another hit with Damar Hamlin suffering a hamstring injury during the joint practice with the Pittsburgh Steelers last week. The Bills might need to turn to Cam Lewis to pair with Taylor Rapp at safety, leaving them highly vulnerable in coverage as well as run support without Milano.
The Bills are absolutely going to feel the absence of leadership and guidance Hyde and Poyer provided, even as their physical skills diminished.
Backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who suffered a knee injury in last Saturday night’s game at Pittsburgh, is another player who is expected to miss multiple weeks. Calling that a significant problem is probably an overstatement. Trubisky or anyone else not named Josh Allen lining up QB for any length of time likely means the end to whatever hopes the Bills would have to be a contender.
At the moment, the best thing the Bills can do Saturday is exit the game without additional names on the injury list and hope that there will be enough healing time before the Sept. 8 season-opener against Arizona.