Before their final preseason game, Bills head coach Sean McDermott added three new players to the team’s injured list and also expressed optimism about the status of a handful of players already on the injured list.
Safety Terrell Burgess (hamstring), nickel CB Taron Johnson (quad) and Will Clapp (concussion protocol) complete the injury list.
McDermott explained that Johnson is currently dealing with pain rather than an injury and that the team is holding him out of Thursday’s practice as a “preventive” measure. Burgess, however, will “more than likely” miss Saturday’s preseason game.
On a positive note, McDermott believes QB Mitch Trubisky (knee), WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (neck) and TE Quintin Morris (shoulder) are all trending upward.
“I think they’ll all be close,” McDermott said of their availability in Week 1. “It would be difficult for me to say at this point which ones will come back sooner.”
In response to specific questions about Valdes-Scantling and WR Curtis Samuel (turf toe), McDermott expressed optimism about their availability for the season opener against the Cardinals, but would not make a definitive prediction yet.
“From everything I’ve heard so far, I feel like they both have a really good chance of coming back. They just haven’t committed to it yet,” he said.
“Other than Matt Milano, there’s no one at this point that, if I go through the list quickly, we can definitely rule out for Week 1.”
The Bills’ starters will rest for the final game of the season on Saturday, and McDermott was pleased with their practice performance this week.
“I think it’s important for us to not only stay focused, but to focus on taking the next step. I saw a lot of that this week and we need to continue to do that next week,” he said.
