Tre’Davious White appeared to have suffered a season-ending injury in the Buffalo Bills‘ blowout win over the Miami Dolphins. Does Sean McDermott have a Plan B? We discuss in our Bills news and rumors offering.
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Update: An MRI confirmed that Tre’Davious White has torn his ACL.
Buffalo Bills News and Rumors: Cornerback Options
As other outlets have reported, the injury that Bills starting CB Tre’Davious White suffered during Sunday’s 48-20 victory over the visiting division-rival Dolphins is likely a torn Achilles tendon.
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Word around the players, according to league sources, is that he suffered the injury. And when players hear about a potentially serious injury, word tends to spread rather quickly after the game.
White will have testing done for the injury on Monday.
The injury occurred during the third quarter of the game with White locked into coverage on WR Tyreek Hill, and he wound up grabbing his right foot.
White also suffered a torn left ACL during the team’s road victory against the host New Orleans Saints on Thanksgiving during the 2021 season and did not play again until Week 12 of last season.
Sean McDermott gets choked up talking about Tre'Davious White's injury as he was carted off in today's game with an Achilles injury on a non-contact play. Tre was McDermott's first draft pick after he took over as head coach of the #Bills. pic.twitter.com/NQH5n8DZyw
— Heather Prusak (@haprusak) October 1, 2023
With White out of the lineup, a likely scenario is backup CB Dane Jackson as a starter opposite second-year CB Christian Benford, with nickel CB Taron Johnson remaining in that role.
Johnson, who is known in scouting circles as one of the NFL’s best players in his role (nickel), signed a three-year, $24 million contract extension in October 2021.
2022 first-round CB Kaiir Elam has been a weekly healthy inactive through the first four games, so it’s likely that the team will look elsewhere for depth at the position.
Here’s an inside look at recent veteran cornerback workouts around the NFL:
- William Jackson (worked out by Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles)
- Jason Verrett (worked out by San Francisco 49ers)
- Breon Borders (worked out by Carolina Panthers)
Word in scouting circles is that Jackson is best used in a man coverage system, which is not the primary coverage with the Bills, so there are questions with him in terms of defensive coverage fit with this team.
Verrett, who was once thought of as one of the better No. 2 cornerbacks in the NFL, has been besieged by serious injuries (two ACL injuries, torn Achilles tendon) over his career.
Borders would fit in as a fourth or fifth cornerback on a roster but does have some coverage versatility.