Bills vs. Patriots, Week 16: Mid-week injury trends

Nobody in Buffalo was in a red jersey today, and Rasul Douglas says he’s playing.

There were no red, non-contact jerseys at One Bills Drive Thursday as the Buffalo Bills held their second practice of the week in preparation of hosting the New England Patriots on Sunday evening. Just because everyone was practicing, doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to be concerned about or keep our eyes on.

---

Here’s a look at how injured players are trending as we’ve hit the middle of the week.

Bills injured players trending toward playing

• T Spencer Brown (neck)
• DT DeWayne Carter (wrist)
• WR Amari Cooper (wrist)
• TE Dalton Kincaid (knee)
• TE Quintin Morris (shoulder/groin)
• DE Dawuane Smoot (wrist)

Everyone above has practiced fully for two days now. All of these players played in the Week 15 win over the Detroit Lions with Spencer Brown the only one who wasn’t already while dealing with their listed injury. No one is in jeopardy of not being active on Sunday — at least not due to their current injuries.

Bills injured players holding steady

• CB Rasul Douglas (knee)
• S Damar Hamlin (rib)
• LB Matt Milano (biceps/groin)
• S Taylor Rapp (neck)
• WR Curtis Samuel (back)
• LB Dorian Williams (elbow)

Everyone here was still limited, although there’s video of Milano jumping, Douglas jogging, and everyone working on agility or pass catching. While we won’t know until Sunday for sure (although we can hope for only a few designations tomorrow), if I was going to guess on who would play, I would go with Douglas (who confidently told members of the media that he’s ready to play Sunday), Hamlin, and Williams. Rapp’s injury being a neck provides a little more uncertainty as is the case with Milano’s injury. Samuel is probably okay, but right now, Buffalo’s offense is as healthy as it’s been since early October — so, if the veteran is experiencing any pain, there’s plenty of room for rest.

Bills injured players trending down

• LB Baylon Spector (calf)

Spector was just activated from the Injured Reserve list after spending more than a month rehabbing his calf injury. After Williams and Milano were both injured in Detroit on Sunday, Spector was called on maybe more than expected (23% of Buffalo’s defensive snap counts). Week 16 opened with no indication of any problems for the third-year linebacker who has had more than a couple of injuries in his three NFL seasons.

However, on Thursday, Spector’s calf apparently became a problem again and it resulted in the linebacker having a limited practice session. It will definitely be something to watch — Does he need more rest? Should he be sent back to IR? Was today just precautionary? Maybe more answers will come after the Friday practice. But hopefully Williams and Milano can be healthy enough to play — if not, Joe Andreessen is going to get a lot of snaps on Sunday.

---

As for the New England Patriots, they didn’t have good news to report on Thursday. They started with announcing that defensive tackle Christian Barmore was being placed on the reserve/non-football illness list. The official statement out of New England is that Barmore is having some “recurring symptoms.” Barmore had issues with blood clots earlier this season, but had returned to play in Weeks 11, 12, and 13. After a bye in Week 14, Barmore was not able to play last Sunday in the Patriots’ loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Now, the fourth year lineman’s season has officially come to an end.

---

Here’s a look at how the rest of the Patriots are trending ahead of Week 16.

Injured Patriots trending down

• RB JaMycal Hasty (Ankle)
• CB Marcus Jones (Hip)

Neither Hasty nor Jones have practiced at all this week, and it’s not looking good for either of them for Sunday.

Injured Patriots holding steady

• S Kyle Dugger (Ankle / Illness)
• CB Christian Gonzalez (Shoulder)
• LB Anfernee Jennings (Knee)
• T Vederian Lowe (Shoulder)
• OL Cole Strange (Knee)
• LB Jahlani Tavai (Groin)
• OT Caedan Wallace (Ankle)
• DE Deatrich Wise Jr. (Foot)

Safety Kyle Dugger was upgraded to limited on Thursday after not participating at all on Wednesday. It’s likely that he’s recovered from an unspecified illness that sidelined him early in the week and is now just dealing with the ankle injury. Everyone else above was limited on both Wednesday and Thursday.

Injured Patriots trending toward playing

• WR Javon Baker (concussion)

The good news for New England is that it looks like Javon Baker may have cleared concussion protocol. Baker appeared on the Week 15 injury report with a concussion that must have happened in practice as the Patriots were on bye in Week 14. After missing last week’s game in Arizona, Baker has now been upgraded from a limited participant on Wednesday to a full participant on Thursday. While the rookie has only been active in seven games this season, it’s certain that New England would like to have choices on Sunday.

---

Today’s practice status, and subsequent game designations, should give us a better idea of how healthy both the Bills and the Patriots will be on Sunday when they meet for the first time this season.