Bills HC Sean McDermott lists two defensive players as “day to day”

Micah Hyde and Leonard Floyd both went down late in Sunday’s game.

On Monday, Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott gave a very brief, very vague update on the two defensive starters injured in Sunday’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders.

“They’re day-to-day,” McDermott responded after being asked about Micah Hyde and Leonard Floyd who both left Sunday’s game in the fourth quarter.

But did we really expect anything different from McDermott? I mean, we hoped — we hoped to hear “they’ll be fine it” or “it was just a tweak” or even descriptions and diagnoses of the duo’s injuries so that we could start googling and coming up with our own internet interpretations of what happened and start the debate about how long they will be out.

But, no, in true McDermott form, he just whipped out his old mantra and said the pair would both be “day-to-day” and then moved on to the next question from members of the media who were present via conference call.

So, while we know nothing more than we knew Sunday, and probably won’t know anything more until the first Week 3 injury report comes out on Wednesday afternoon, here’s a brief recap of what happened on Sunday.

Hyde, who’s playing in his 11th season in the NFL, was helping cornerback Christian Benford break up a pass to keep the Raiders out of field goal range during the fourth quarter. Hyde was slow getting up and then looked like he was taking very deliberate steps to cross the field back toward the Buffalo sideline. Trainers, along with McDermott, reached Hyde near midfield and walked with him but they were keeping a close eye on his leg.

We never saw Hyde go to the blue medical tent, but later, the Bills organization announced that the injury was to the 32-year-old’s hamstring and that he would be “questionable” to return. Of course, with the Bills up 28-10, Buffalo didn’t have any reason to rush Hyde back to the playing field — and since the Raiders’ offense was on the field for just six more plays on their next drive, Hyde never reentered the game.

During his postgame interview, Hyde said that he was “fine” and that he would be “ready to play” next week when the Bills take on the Washington Commanders. Of course, we have heard that standard answer before and here we are ten months later still waiting for Von Miller to get back on the field. It’s unlikely that Hyde’s injury will be as severe or that his recovery will be as intensive as Miller. I would bet it is a hamstring strain — the severity of it and what their game plan is for the Commanders will likely determine whether or not they rest Hyde this coming week.

As for Leonard Floyd, it isn’t quite as apparent as to when he was hurt, but he was seen on the sideline with a shoe off and being attended to by trainers. When the team announced Hyde’s status, they also included Floyd — who they said had an ankle injury — and said that he was also questionable to return. Like Hyde, there was no need to rush the 31-year-old Floyd, who is in his first season with the Buffalo Bills, back to the field. My guess — an ankle sprain (there is video of Floyd walking unassisted to the locker-room after the game). However, we all know how those ankle sprains affected a slew of Bills players last season — including Ed Oliver who missed several games even though he, also, said he would be just fine.

So, now we wait. Wait to see what their participation is on Wednesday. Wait to see if they will be game-ready by this weekend. Wait to see if McDermott feels he needs them on the field or if he can afford to let two of his star defenders rest a week before taking on division rivals, and currently AFC East leading, Miami Dolphins. For now, we will just have to take it “day-to-day”