The Bills will have to play the Jacksonville Jaguars without two of their best defenders
The Buffalo Bills get the benefit of a ‘mini-bye’ — made possible by having played two games in five days — before their Week 3 match up with the Jacksonville Jaguars. But the 11-day stretch won’t be enough for the Bills to get all of their starters back on the field.
Before Wednesday’s practice, head coach Sean McDermott announced that he was already ruling both linebacker Terrel Bernard and nickel cornerback Taron Johnson out of Monday night’s game at Highmark Stadium.
Bills coach Sean McDermott said that nickel corner Taron Johnson (forearm) and linebacker Terrel Bernard (pectoral) are both out for Monday’s game vs. the Jaguars.
McDermott said that everyone else will practice today.
— Alaina Getzenberg (@agetzenberg) September 18, 2024
Johnson, who suffered a forearm injury just minutes into Week 1’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, has missed all but seven plays of the season. While no specifics of what the actual injury is have come from One Bills Drive, it’s widely speculated that the All-Pro suffered a fracture. The good news is that the Bills have not sent the veteran, who’s thought to be one of the best nickel corners in the league, to Injured Reserve (IR). That would indicate their hope they can get him back (whether through splinting or casting or actual healing) by Halloween.
As for Bernard, his early exit in Week 2 looked like it would be a big blow to a Bills team that was already missing linebacker Matt Milano who started the season on the IR. Buffalo’s defensive captain injured a pectoral muscle while trying to make a tackle near the goal line last Thursday night. Baylon Spector was called on to step up and did a more-than-adequate job recording 10 total tackles — six of them solo.
A day after the game, it was reported that Bernard had suffered a strain rather than a tear, meaning that his recovery time looked like weeks rather than months. However, like Johnson, the Bills haven’t sent Bernard to IR at this point, and McDermott said Wednesday that he had no update on whether that was going to happen or not.
Can confirm Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard had a pectoral strain versus a tear, per source. He is expected to miss about a month
— katherine fitzgerald (@kfitz134) September 13, 2024
I was sent this picture of Terrel Bernard in the locker room after the game.
No sling on the left arm is positive to see. Further supports a strain vs full tear.
MRI needed to assess extent of damage & establish timeline.
Buffalo #Bills@BobbyM1988 pic.twitter.com/zALWaIVmh4
— Banged Up Bills (@BangedUpBills) September 13, 2024
#Bills nickel Taron Johnson (right forearm) was in the locker room today post-practice. Notable is that he didn’t have a cast on the arm. He missed the Miami game and has been ruled out for Jacksonville game, but remains on the active roster.
— Ryan O’Halloran (@ryanohalloran) September 18, 2024
The rest of Buffalo’s roster was practiced Wednesday, including defensive end Dawuane Smoot, who had been dealing with a toe injury that’s kept him sidelined for two weeks, and rookie defensive end Javon Solomon, who has also been out of action for the past two weeks with an oblique injury.