The Buffalo Bills are staring at the possibility of a major problem in their secondary.
Veteran cornerback Tre’Davious White limped off the field Thursday during practice inside Highmark Stadium with the assistance of teammates after suffering an apparent lower-body injury. He was immediately looked at by members of the team’s training staff before taking a slow walk toward the tunnel. He eventually was placed on a cart and driven back to the team’s fieldhouse.
No immediate update was provided by the team, meaning it’s breath-holding time. White projected as the team’s Week 1 starter opposite Christian Benford. There is still no timetable on first-round draft pick Maxwell Hairston’s return from a knee injury that has kept him out for weeks, leaving the team in a bind at the position with a big game looming against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 7.
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Tre'Davious White (copy)
Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White appeared to suffer a lower-body injury during Thursday's practice. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Benford also missed a portion of team drills Thursday, but told a group of reporters after practice that he is fine and just needed some rest.
While the severity of White’s injury is not yet known, the frustration was apparent as he left the field Thursday. Signed to a one-year contract after one year away from the team, White’s first stint with the Bills ended largely because of a pair of major injuries – a torn ACL suffered on Thanksgiving night during the 2021 season against the Saints and a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in Week 4 of the 2023 season.
White, who was the first draft pick under head coach Sean McDermott, split last year between the Los Angeles Rams and Baltimore Ravens after being released by the Bills. His return to Buffalo had been one of the feel-good stories of the summer.
For now, that return is on hold. If White and Hairston are unavailable for Week 1, the starter opposite Benford likely will come from a group that includes Ja'Marcus Ingram, Dane Jackson and rookie Dorian Strong.
Other injury updates
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The Bills practiced for the final time before the preseason finale Saturday at Tampa Bay. The list of those not participating included Hairston (knee), center Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (calf), wide receiver Khalil Shakir (ankle), linebacker Keonta Jenkins (ankle), safety Jordan Hancock (shoulder), offensive tackle Tylan Grable (concussion), offensive tackle Travis Clayton (concussion), wide receiver Grant DuBose (collarbone) and wide receiver Stephen Gosnell (calf).
McDermott said DuBose will undergo surgery for his injury, which was suffered during Wednesday’s practice – his first with the team. With DuBose and Gosnell likely unavailable Saturday, the Bills could end up using some receivers they might have otherwise held out of the game.
Van Pran-Granger, meanwhile, went through the entirety of training camp without practicing, leaving open the possibility of starting the season either on injured reserve or the physically-unable-to-perform list.
"We’ll see. I mean, there’s a few guys where some of those conversations will take place," McDermott said. "Right now, he’s in a situation where he’s not able to go and probably not this weekend as well. So, we’ll see where that leads us as we move down the road here."
Linebacker Shaq Thompson (hamstring), center Connor McGovern (hamstring) and safety Cam Lewis (calf) were limited during practice. Defensive end Joey Bosa did not appear to participate in any team drills the day after having a veteran rest day during Wednesday’s practice.
Tempers flare
The Bills worked their offensive and defensive starters against each other during Thursday’s practice. Perhaps not surprisingly, tempers flared. Safety Damar Hamlin made hard contact with running back Ty Johnson, which led to quarterback Josh Allen coming over to have some words.
Later, safety Taylor Rapp put a hard hit on receiver Elijah Moore, which led both the offensive and defensive sidelines clearing. Rapp was particularly incensed as he booted a football in frustration on the sideline.
Buffalo Bills practice (copy)
Bills safety Taylor Rapp on Thursday put a hard hit on receiver Elijah Moore, which led both the offensive and defensive sidelines clearing. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
McDermott said before practice that he had not made a decision on whether any of his starters would play against the Buccaneers.
“Not totally there yet,” he said. “We’re going to work together, ones versus ones, and get our reps up to the point where we need to have them this time of year, and then we’ll make final decisions from there. It’ll be on a case-by-case basis. Where that goes, I’m anticipating not playing all the ones, but we’ll see where today goes at this point.”
McDermott did say that Allen will not play at all against the Buccaneers, meaning the league MVP will end the preseason without taking a rep of live-game action.
“I feel like he’s shown to this point that he’s in a good spot,” McDermott said. “He’s always going to want to play. That’s what competitive people want to do. They want to play. But I also have a responsibility as well to protect him and in doing so, protect our team.”
Davis visits
Former Bills receiver Gabe Davis completed a free-agent visit to the team Wednesday, although McDermott's comments made it sound like a potential signing is premature.
"From my standpoint, I had a good conversation with Gabe, just getting caught back up on things, and kind of his journey over the last year or so, and it was a good conversation," the coach said. "From there, that was it at this point for me. I know he did some other things in the building and with our medical staff as well, but for me at that point, that was it. But it was good to see him."
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