Bills vs. Jaguars: Midweek injury trends and the return of Jordan Poyer

Lots of ups for the Bills; lots of uncertainty for the Jags

On Friday, the Buffalo Bills will make the flight across the ocean to London where they’ll play “host” to the Jacksonville Jaguars, things are looking very positive for Sunday’s “home” team.

Here’s a look at how both teams are trending on the injury front as we hit the mid-week mark.

Bills players trending up

• S Jordan Poyer (knee)
• RB Damien Harris (neck)

Both Poyer and Harris were limited in Wednesday’s practice, but there was nothing holding them back today. This is particularly important for Jordan Poyer and the impact his ability to play Sunday could have on the Bills’ defensive secondary.

Poyer injured his knee almost two weeks ago in Buffalo’s win over the Washington Commanders in Week 4. The veteran safety didn’t practice at all last week and was inactive Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. While the Bills have Micah Hyde in the backfield, something they didn’t have in the three games Poyer missed last season, they lost veteran CB Tre’Davious White to a torn Achilles on Sunday. Having two All-Pro veteran backs on the field providing guidance for some emerging corners and linebackers is definitely a plus. I would expect to see both of these guys on the field in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Sunday.

Bills players holding steady

• CB Christian Benford (shoulder)
• TE Dawson Knox (quad)
• EDGE Von Miller (knee)

With White out for the season, Buffalo would undoubtedly like to have Benford on the field. Having beat out fellow second-year (and much higher drafted) corner Kaiir Elam for the job starting opposite White this season, Benford would provide some continuity on the defense for Buffalo. It’s assumed that Dane Jackson, who was CB2 last season until Benford bested him too for the job this preseason, will replace the injured White. Elam has been a healthy scratch all season and is sure to be in uniform this week as well.

We really don’t know much about Knox’s injury, but it’s likely he’s working through some soreness and nothing too serious. While having rookie Dalton Kincaid not just on the team but an integral part of the offense gives the Bills the ability to make adjustments at tight end if needed, hopefully — and probably — that won’t be the case this Sunday.

As for Von Miller, he’s stated that he’s feeling good after two days of practice, and we have all heard that the plan is for him to travel with the team to London. However, we haven’t heard anything from either head coach Sean McDermott or general manager Brandon Beane as to what any of that means. Will Miller be active on Sunday? Who knows, but our trending-down category may play a part in that decision.

Bills players trending down

• EDGE Greg Rousseau (foot)
• CB Tre’Davious White (Achilles)

While we know that White is done for the season, the Bills have yet to move him to Injured Reserve, meaning that he still has to show up on the team’s weekly injury reports. This is just a matter of roster management at this point, and we’re likely to see him moved when Buffalo activates Miller.

Rousseau is the bigger issue here in terms of Sunday’s game. As a non-participant for both of this week’s practices, it’s going to take a matter of “he just needed to get some soft tissue swelling down, nothing is really wrong” type vibes to get the 6’6” pass rusher back on the field for Week 5. Buffalo’s defense has been moving with such efficiency and Rousseau has been a huge part of this with nine combined tackles, three sacks, two passes defensed, and a forced fumble. But if he can’t go on Sunday, it might be Miller Time and we might see White’s name moved.

On the other side of the field will be the Jacksonville Jaguars who are in London for the second straight week, despite being listed as the visiting team on the NFL schedule. Here’s a look at what they are dealing with.

Jaguars trending down

• WR Parker Washington (knee)
• LB Devin Lloyd (thumb)
• LB Dawuane Smoot (Achilles)

For Washington, his NFL debut lasted just one play as he injured his knee on the play. On Monday, Jacksonville head coach Doug Pederson said that he expected the wide receiver to be out for at least a week. Washington’s debut came because of an injury to Jamal Agnew, who the team is easing back into practice this week and Pederson said was day-to-day.

Lloyd won’t be in action on Sunday as, after having surgery to place a couple of screws in his injured thumb, he didn’t travel to London with the team.

Jaguars holding steady

• WR Zay Jones (knee)
• DB Antonio Johnson (hamstring)
• WR Jamal Agnew (quad)
• DT Foley Fatukasi (shoulder)
• CB Christian Braswell (hamstring)

Jones has dealt with a knee injury all season, which apparently got worse in the lead up to the Jaguars first game in London last week. Jones didn’t suit up against the Atlanta Falcons but has since been limited. I’d say this is still a 50/50 shot for him to play, but in a game where the Jaguars are going to need to be able to do all they can to keep the Bills’ defense as off-balance as possible to stay on the field as long as possible and keep QB Josh Allen and Co. from putting up points, we may see Jones.

Jaguars trending up

• LB Josh Allen (shoulder)

Allen has been dealing with a shoulder injury since September 17 when he left the game in which the Jaguars lost to the Kansas City Chiefs early. His limited practice on Wednesday seems like it was probably just maintenance, and we’ll see the Jacksonville Allen try to contain the Buffalo Allen Sunday.

Tomorrow’s injury list — and any potential roster transactions — will be an interesting watch.