The Buffalo Bills are hoping to return to the playoffs in 2024, but they might be fighting to string together wins when the regular season starts. Head coach Sean McDermott announced that multiple players will be out for weeks, and others are considered “week-to-week.”
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Bills players now out multiple weeks, per HC Sean McDermott:
🏈QB Mitch Trubisky (knee)
🏈WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (neck)
🏈TE Quintin Morris (shoulder)Players considered week to week:
🏈S Damar Hamlin (hamstring)
🏈Curtis Samuel (turf toe)— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 19, 2024
According to a post from Adam Schefter commenting on players that are out, quarterback Mitch Trubisky, wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and tight end Quintin Morris will all be out multiple weeks due to injury.
Safety Damar Hamlin and wide receiver Curtis Samuel are also considered “week-to-week.”
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The biggest issue currently is the Bills will be potentially without two starting wide receivers. Samuel is listed as a starter currently, and Valdes-Scantling is a backup to rookie Keon Coleman.
Despite Coleman slotted in as a starter, the hope would be that Valdes-Scantling would be in far more as a rotational piece. That won’t be the case any longer as the former Chiefs receiver is now out for multiple weeks with a neck injury.
The Bills offense had both Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis in 2023, but both are now playing with new teams. This leaves the wide receiver corps a bit questionable.
The wide receiver room is even more questionable considering Valdes-Scantling and Samuel are now presumably out for multiple weeks. The good news is Samuel is considered “week-to-week,” and could return sooner than Valdes-Scantling.
The Bills dealing with an injury to Hamlin is also a big hit, as the safety has been working his way back to being fully available. Hamlin only appeared in five games in 2023 but has been looking great in training camp this season.
Every NFL team deals with injuries, but the Bills will have to presumably begin 2024 missing multiple starters. Buffalo will need to start out strong to keep pace with the rest of the AFC playoff hopefuls.
The Bills’ own division is stacked with stiff competition, as the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, and New England Patriots are all vying to make noise in the AFC East. The Dolphins nearly took the 2023 AFC East crown but lost to the Bills in the final game of the season.
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That’s not to mention the rest of the AFC which has the Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, and more that will provide tons of competition for playoff spots.
The hope is Hamlin and Samuel will return to the lineup by Week 1, but the Bills will presumably be without Morris, Valdes-Scantling, and Morris for multiple weeks.