Bills head coach Sean McDermott announced that defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, wide receiver Joshua Palmer, and safety Taylor Rapp will not play in Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers due to injuries. All three players missed practice throughout the week.
Taylor Rapp, who has been managing a knee injury since training camp, will be placed on Injured Reserve and is expected to miss at least four games. “It came up in training camp unfortunately and he was dealing with it since then,” McDermott told WGR550. “It just got to the point where he’s just not able to really be himself. And so, we’re making the decision right now through the medical people’s opinion that we’ll put him on IR and we’ll take it one week at a time right now.”
McDermott said there is optimism that neither Jones nor Palmer will require placement on Injured Reserve. “Feeling more comfortable that it’s not going to lead to IR,” he said. “Can’t say we’re out of the woods yet on either of those two at this point, but feel like we’re heading in the right direction.”
Several other players remain limited by injuries. Linebacker Terrel Bernard (ankle), linebacker Matt Milano (pectoral), tight end Dalton Kincaid (oblique), and wide receiver Curtis Samuel (ribs) were limited participants in Wednesday’s and Thursday’s practices. According to McDermott, Curtis Samuel will participate fully in Friday’s practice and is expected to play Sunday. Bernard, Milano, and Kincaid remain limited for Friday and are listed as questionable for Sunday.
Rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston began his 21-day practice window this week after returning from injury and was limited in both Wednesday’s and Thursday’s sessions. McDermott said of Hairston: “He’s done some good things. He really has. Again, just managing the expectations. And you want to take it one day at a time. There is a lot that’s new for him because of the amount of time that he’s missed due to the injury.” When asked if Hairston would be activated for Sunday’s game, McDermott responded: “we’ll see.”
Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi and defensive end Michael Hoecht have returned from suspension and will be available for Sunday’s matchup against Carolina.
