Clarity on Tre’Davious White’s injury isn’t any better than it was after it happened Thursday.
The Buffalo Bills cornerback hobbled off during a practice and left on a cart, with the team declining to provide an immediate update. Bills general manager Brandon Beane did comment on the injury during a pregame interview with WIVB-TV.
“Had a little lower leg injury,” Beane said. “We’re not going to say a lot at this point. Hopefully, we’ll get him back when we can. … He’s getting treatment. We’ll see next week what the timelines are.”
White, of course, was released by the Bills after a torn Achilles in 2023 and a torn ACL in 2021 kept him out of 29 of 50 games from 2021-2023. He re-signed with the Bills in April after seven games between the Rams and Ravens last year.
He was originally supposed to be locked in a training camp battle with first-round pick Maxwell Hairston. But Hairston sprained his lateral collateral ligament on July 29 and appears destined to begin the regular season on injured reserve.
White’s diagnosis won’t be revealed until after the team cuts the roster to 53 players by 4 p.m. Tuesday. And Saturday’s 23-19 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t offer any more insight into who on the roster might be able to replace him if he’s out for an extended period of time.
Sixth-round pick Dorian Strong appears to have emerged as the No. 3 outside cornerback, starting the game — all starters but Cole Bishop rested — and was out of the contest after one series. Strong has shown promise throughout camp, but not enough to say he’s ready to be a Week 1 starter.
Dane Jackson has 28 career starts in five NFL seasons, but he struggled in his first preseason back with the Bills after one year in Carolina. Jackson played into the fourth quarter, which isn’t a good sign the Bills are comfortable with him as a starter in place of White.
Ja’Marcus Ingram has seemingly been behind Strong and Jackson on the depth chart all preseason, came in for Strong and left the game before Jackson. Still, Ingram wasn’t trusted enough to start last season.
If White needs to miss extended action, the Bills might look outside the team for a replacement.
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If Tyrell Shavers doesn’t make the 53-man roster, he will know there wasn’t much more he could have done to sway the coaching staff.
Whether the Bills keep five or six receivers remains uncertain, but Shavers has staked his claim to be one of them. After a 58-yard grab in the preseason opener against the Giants and a 22-yard catch against the Bears, Shavers hauled in a one-handed 11-yard touchdown catch against the Buccaneers.
After being a favorite to sneak onto the roster last season, Shavers had a quiet spring and start to training camp. After being carted off with an ankle injury July 27, Shavers missed only two full practices and has made play after play since, extending into games with a team-high 123 yards on six receptions during the preseason.
Shavers’ path to the roster remains on special teams and the Bills played him on every punt and kickoff — seven total — to get an elongated look at how he fits in. Barring a trade, the team’s top-four receivers are Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer, Curtis Samuel and Khalil Shakir.
Samuel didn’t travel to Tampa due to an illness, while Shakir is out with a high ankle sprain. Elijah Moore has been the team’s fifth receiver all camp and has plenty of NFL experience, but doesn’t offer much special teams help.
The Bills have been trying to turn kick return specialist into a coverage player, but he whiffed on three kickoff attempts as Tampa Bay averaged 38 yards per return.
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Beane was adamant Deone Walker would have been a first-round pick if he hadn’t injured his back last year at Kentucky. If Walker can stay healthy, he’s proved during the preseason that he has the ability to be the gem of Buffalo’s draft class.
The fourth-round pick has done something to showcase his talent in every preseason game, but he made a slew of plays during the first half.
On the opening drive, Walker broke the offensive line and forced Buccaneers quarterback Kyle Trask to dump off a throw to a running back without looking downfield. Walker also recorded a tackle for a loss and then ragdolled guard Elijah Klein to haul down Trask for a sack.
It all happened in the first quarter. If Walker can give the Bills some consistency, he would be a major addition to the defensive line.