ORCHARD PARK — The questions about Maxwell Hairston went from “what happened?” to “how long?”
Both were answered Tuesday.
After missing six practices and the preseason opener — for which Hairston dressed but didn’t play — he returned for an open practice at Highmark Stadium. Despite Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady initially saying Hairston would be fine, Hairston was out for nearly two weeks. And the cornerback finally revealed that his ailment was a groin injury.
Hairston knew it wasn’t serious, but it was his third lower-body injury since being drafted in the first round by the Bills last year. He missed the first six games last year after tearing his right LCL during training camp and then missed the playoffs with a right ankle injury.
“That thought will always cross your head if you have a little hiccup,” Hairston told GNN Sports after practice Tuesday. “But I was fortunate to know right off the hit that it was nowhere near the serious level that it was last year. So I’m just blessed that it was something minor, more like a camp injury.”
While former coach Sean McDermott was concerned about Hairston missing reps during his injury periods last year, new Bills defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard wasn’t worried Hairston would struggle with anything schematically.
“Any time corners go out, the first thing you notice is their tempo,” Leonhard said. “They start playing too fast, or sometimes your eyes can get a little bit messed up. … I don’t think he’ll have any issues as far as schematically what we’re asking him to do or communication on the field. It’s just how fast can he snap it back into playing with the right tempo, playing with the right technique?”
The question Leonhard has is whether Hairston can adjust to game speed quickly. Rookie Davison Igbinosun has worked with the first-team defense in Hairston’s absence, including starting against the Carolina Panthers Saturday.
After returning from his first injury last season, Hairston shared time with veteran Tre’Davious White. During the spring and first week of training camp, there was no question the Bills planned to start Hairston opposite Christian Benford.
“Max is a man (coverage) corner,” Leonhard said July 30. “… Anytime you have that speed and quickness at an elite level, it allows you to play a lot of man coverage. … With a guy like Max, it’s the ability to mix and match, playing man coverage and challenging receivers, but having vision on the quarterback to take the ball away.”
• Safety Cole Bishop returned to practice Tuesday after missing a week. He left the Return of the Blue and Red Scrimmage with a lower-body injury. It was the third consecutive training camp Bishop — who had offseason knee surgery — missed time due to an injury.
• Wide receiver Keon Coleman did not practice and was wearing a boot on his right ankle. Receivers Khalil Shakir and Skyler Bell, safeties C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Jalon Kilgore, running back Ty Johnson, center Connor McGovern and defensive tackle Ed Oliver did not practice.