When the Buffalo Bills began the 2023 NFL season, they were not only picked by most pundits to win the AFC East but to make a deep run in the playoffs. After stumbling in Week 1 against the host New York Jets, the team turned their fortunes around and won three games in a row.
However, injuries have taken a major toll on Buffalo’s defense recently, and it’s certainly fair to wonder how they’re going to get through the growing list on that side of the ball. We explore in our Week 6 rundown of the Bills’ news and rumors.
From the current NFL standings to team depth charts to coverage of every game in the 18-week NFL schedule, we have all the news from around the league to keep you up to speed!
Buffalo Bills News and Rumors: Von Miller’s Return Overshadowed By Injuries
While veteran DE Von Miller returned to play for the first time since he suffered a torn right ACL during the team’s Thanksgiving game against the host Detroit Lions last season, the team got some bad news during their loss last Sunday in London to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Miller played in 20 out of the team’s 88 defensive snaps in the game, but the Bills lost two key starters in the game — WLB Matt Milano (leg, knee), widely regarded as their best defensive player, and 10th-year DT DaQuan Jones (pectoral).
Both are out indefinitely will have surgery to repair their injuries, according to head coach Sean McDermott. The Bill placed Milano and Jones on injured reserve Wednesday. (In corresponding moves, the Bills signed linebacker A.J. Klein and designated LB Baylon Spector to return.)
Milano and Jones add to a list of key players who did not play last week: starting DE Greg Rousseau (foot), backup DE Shaq Lawson (toe), and starting CB Christian Benford (right shoulder). Starting CB Tre’Davious White (torn Achilles tendon-IR) will miss the rest of the season after suffering his injury during the team’s Week 4 victory over the visiting Miami Dolphins.
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With Lawson sidelined after being added late to the injury report as questionable on Saturday (one day prior to the game), fourth-year DE A.J. Epenesa wound up starting for Rousseau. A personnel source said Epenesa came out of college as more of a run defender than a pass rusher. However, he posted 6.5 sacks last season and had two sacks against the Jaguars.
As for who will replace Milano, who is known in personnel circles as one of the best coverage linebackers in the NFL, the team plans to look inside their roster first before considering other options.
“We’ll start inside first, and then, if need be, we’ll go outside. But we’ll start inside as we always do it,” McDermott said when asked earlier this week during a media session about looking at free agent options.
The coaches used 2019 UDFA LB Tyrel Dodson and rookie LB Dorian Williams in Milano’s place after he left the game. Milano did not return to the game after playing just 11 snaps.
Bills rookie LB Dorian Williams (#42) had some nice moments stepping in for Matt Milano.
Here's a nice track and tackle and a good snap in coverage getting the PBU. pic.twitter.com/M91fGtWfaj
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) October 10, 2023
What makes Milano such a great player, in addition to his coverage skill, is his instincts, a personnel source said. Today’s NFL linebackers are typically much smaller than they were going back 10+ years. Milano is listed at just 6’0”, 223 by the team, but size has never been an issue for him.
The seventh-year defender, who was a fifth-round pick by the Bills out of the 2017 NFL Draft, signed a two-year contract extension back in March worth $28.3 million.
With Jones out of the game after just four snaps, the coaches turned to veteran DT Tim Settle as well as DT Kendal Vickers, who was elevated from the practice squad the day before the game. Vickers, who played in over 50% of the defensive snaps against the Jaguars, which was his first game of the season, reverted back to the practice squad on Monday.
In the secondary, fourth-year CB Dane Jackson and 2022 first-round CB Kaiir Elam started on the outside for White and Benford, with veteran CB Taron Johnson remaining in his nickel role.
Elam had been a healthy inactive for the team’s first four games. Jackson, who had primarily been a special-teams player for the first three games and had only seen 13 snaps on defense, has wound up playing 137 defensive snaps over the last two games.
In a surprise, Buffalo signed veteran CB Josh Norman to their practice squad earlier this week. Norman, who is very familiar with the defensive scheme based on his time with the Bills during the 2020 season and with the Carolina Panthers when McDermott ran their defense many years ago, turns 36 years old in December.
He has not been with a team since last season but will get a chance to get in game shape with the Bills in the coming days.
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The team did work out six defensive backs last week (five safeties, one cornerback), a personnel source confirmed and signed journeyman CB Herb Miller to their practice squad, who was one of those players who worked out for them.
On Tuesday, the Bills had former Bengals fifth-round (2018) DT Andrew Brown in for a visit, a source confirmed. Brown started one game in his rookie season and has played in 28 games in his career with four different teams.
McDermott and his defensive coaches ended last week’s game down five starters (Rousseau, Jones, Milano, White, and Benford).
Rousseau and Benford will return, possibly soon, but adequately replacing the other three players will be a challenge for McDermott and his veteran defensive staff.