For the second straight year, the Buffalo Bills will be without one of their best defensive players for the majority of the season.
Linebacker Matt Milano suffered a torn biceps earlier this week and is now facing a lengthy absence, as ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. Milano will undergo surgery and attempt to return later in the 2024 campaign, potentially in December.
Bills LB Matt Milano Out With Biceps Injury
Milano, a first-team All-Pro selection in 2022, fractured his leg in Week 5 of the 2023 season. While the Bills held out hope he’d be able to return later in the season or during their playoff run, Milano never got back on the field.
Milano, 30, was limited during Buffalo’s June minicamp but had fully participated in the club’s ongoing training camp.
Head coach Sean McDermott said Milano was tackling a bag earlier this week when he hit his arm, per The Athletic’s Katherine Fitzgerald. McDermott also suggested it’s too early to predict whether Milano will play this season.
“It’s an unfortunate situation,” McDermott said, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Buffalo News. “(Milano is) resilient. We have to be resilient. We have to be focused and move forward with solutions.”
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Milano has appeared in 90 games (74 starts) since the Bills selected him in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He’s under contract through 2026 after inking a two-year, $28.33 million extension with Buffalo last March.
Milano finished 73rd on the Pro Football Network Top 100 and was the No. 5 linebacker behind Fred Warner, Roquan Smith, Demario Davis, and Quincy Williams.
What Buffalo’s Defense Looks Like Without Milano
The Bills had to work around Milano’s absence in 2023, but McDermott and first-year defensive coordinator Bobby Babich no longer have the same depth pieces who can step in to fill Milano’s void.
Terrel Bernard wore Buffalo’s green dot after All-Pro LB Matt Milano went down in Week 5. He showed range as a coverage defender, routinely filled his gap in the run game, and posted 20 pressures on just 72 pass-rushing snaps.
Bernard played 93% of the Bills’ defensive snaps last season. The third-year ‘backer will be counted on heavily again with Milano out in 2024 and could be primed for a true breakout campaign.
Bernard returns this year, but Tyrel Dodson — who played at least 50% of Buffalo’s snaps after Milano broke his leg — signed with the Seattle Seahawks over the offseason.
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Who’s the next man up? Probably 2023 third-round pick Dorian Williams, who primarily played on special teams during his rookie campaign but logged a 20% snap rate on defense. 2022 seventh-rounder Baylor Spector could also be in the mix, but he’s worked as Bernard’s direct backup at middle linebacker.
The Bills will need two LBs on the field for most of their defensive snaps, but McDermott and Babich could lean into more Dime packages with six or more defensive backs (and just a single linebacker).
According to TruMedia, Buffalo did not play a single snap of Dime personnel from Weeks 1 through 5 in 2023.
However, after Milano’s Week 5 injury, the Bills used Dime packages on 22.8% of their plays, the fifth-highest rate in the league.