Analysis: Anxious time awaits as Bills' projected starting cornerbacks miss practice
The team’s initial 53-man roster, which was released Tuesday, provided some good news in regards to White’s injury. No. 1, the team kept him on the 53-man roster, a move that suggests even if he were to miss time, it would be less than the minimum stay on injured reserve of four weeks.
Bills fans waiting for a meaningful update on cornerback Tre’Davious White’s health will need to wait a bit longer.
General manager Brandon Beane spoke to the media Wednesday for the first time since trimming the Bills’ roster to 53 players, but the first question posed to him wasn’t about the cuts.
Instead, it was about the health of White, the projected starter opposite Christian Benford. White, back for his second tour of duty with the team, left practice a week ago with a lower-leg injury, and the updates on his condition have been slow to arrive.
“Just we’re rehabbing him as much as we can,” Beane said. “Tre’s got a great attitude, he’s attacking it. Really, other than that, we’re just going to take it day by day, I guess, and kind of see where that goes.”
Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White isn’t being ruled out for Week 1 because of a lower-leg injury, but the timetable for when he’ll return to practice is still unclear.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
That’s not to say there were no updates. Beane did say White’s injury is not season-ending, so that’s good news. He’s also not being ruled out for Week 1, which is more good news. The Bills host the Ravens on Sunday Night Football in a game that figures to have massive AFC playoff implications.
“I’m sure as we get into next week, Wednesday, I think, is the first day an injury report will be due, so we’ll see what it is, whether he can practice any or not, or what that looks like at that time,” Beane said.
The updates didn’t stop there, either. Benford did not practice Wednesday. He told reporters after practice last Thursday that he was “straight” after appearing to sit out of some team drills. That means it’s a guessing game between now and the first practice of Week 1 on the physical health of both of Buffalo’s projected starting cornerbacks.
The team’s initial 53-man roster, which was released Tuesday, provided some good news in regards to White’s injury. No. 1, the team kept him on the 53-man roster, a move that suggests even if he were to miss time, it would be less than the minimum stay on injured reserve of four weeks.
In addition to Benford and White, the other boundary cornerbacks on the roster are veteran Ja’Marcus Ingram and rookie Dorian Strong, a sixth-round draft pick from Virginia. Veteran cornerback Dane Jackson, who was part of the team’s cuts, was signed to the practice squad Wednesday, so he’s also an option against the Ravens if White or Benford isn’t ready.
“We’ve got other guys we believe in. The other guys on the 53 and then we’ll have the guys on the practice squad ready to roll,” Beane said. “We’re very confident in who we have. Obviously our medical team and Tre will do everything they can to be ready for Baltimore. You guys know Tre. He’s been through a couple things. Luckily, this is not any type of season-ending thing. He’s preparing.”
One player who won’t be an option against the Ravens is rookie Maxwell Hairston, the team’s first-round draft pick from Kentucky. Hairston has been out since July 29, when he suffered a sprained lateral collateral ligament in his knee during a training camp drill at St. John Fisher University.
The initial fear of a torn anterior cruciate ligament was avoided, meaning Hairston’s rookie season would not be wiped out entirely, but the Bills knew at the time the LCL sprain was severe enough that Hairston faced the possibility of missing games in the regular season.
That has ended up being the case, as he’ll miss at least four.
“I would love for the docs and the medical team to say ‘Yes, he is ready and full go,’ but he’s not,” Beane said. “Now you’re talking about, even if you’re ready to ramp him up soon, he hasn’t played football in over a month. There is a certain callus that you have to be.”
Even if Hairston was ready to return to practice next week, he’s been out of practice for more than a month, which makes it unrealistic to think he’d be up to speed quickly enough to face the Ravens.
The Bills are taking the long-term approach with Hairston, which is wise considering the organization’s investment in him. It’s more important to have him healthy in November, December and beyond than it is in September and October. Hairston can begin practicing in Week 5, and Beane is hopeful that’s what happens, provided the cornerback does not have any setbacks in his rehab.
With that being the case, though, it puts added importance on when White can return. It was a two-man race between them to see who would start opposite Benford, and once Hairston went down, it was clearly White’s job.
Beane has to have confidence in the players behind those two on the depth chart – especially considering he brought them in – but that confidence doesn’t have to be shared by the team’s fan base.
It’s right to feel a bit nervous about going into such a big game with such a big question mark. It would be one thing if Benford was 100%. Missing practice Wednesday suggests he’s not at the moment.
There is still plenty of time before Sept. 7 gets here, but the wait will produce some anxiety.