The Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals are set to kick off their 2024 campaigns in a few hours, and neither team’s opening-day roster looks quite the way coaches planned. Injuries to players who started the preseason looking like key components to their respective teams have changed the shape of the game — and possibly the season for at least one team.
For the Bills, a last-minute announcement on Saturday afternoon that defensive end Dawuane Smoot would be out with a toe injury resulted in head coach Sean McDermott calling up Kameron Cline from the practice squad. Losing Smoot could change the way defensive coordinator Bobby Babich, who will be calling his first official game on Sunday, works his linemen into the game. It’s no secret that Buffalo likes to keep fresh legs on their defensive front — something they would likely do to keep Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray, who averages 5.8 yards per carry when he decides to tuck the ball and run rather than pass, uncomfortable.
The Bills brought Smoot, a veteran who spent the last seven seasons playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars, in to let Greg Rousseau rest his legs. As a testament to Buffalo’s rotation heavy defensive scheme, Rousseau led all Bills’ linemen last season by being on the field for just 54.6% of the team’s defensive snaps. It is more likely that the Bills will roll with Casey Toohill subbing in for Rousseau than Cline, but Toohill is also new to Buffalo’s defense having spent the last four years as a member of the Washington Commanders and then missing much of training camp with a shoulder injury sustained during an early August practice session.
Smoot’s designation comes a day after McDermott declared rookie edge rusher Javon Solomon out with an oblique injury. While Solomon was third on Buffalo’s depth chart, sitting behind veterans A.J. Epenesa and Von Miller, being down two rotation pieces up front could make for a long day for Buffalo’s pass rushers. There is no doubt that Babich will call for plenty of pass rushing considering Murray had a dismal 44.5 Pro Football Focus (PFF) passing rate when under duress last season. The question will be — can the Bills keep enough fresh legs in the game for a full four quarters?
Speaking of fresh legs and full games — Buffalo’s safety position is a place to keep an extra set of eyes today. The Bills are going with Taylor Rapp and Damar Hamlin as their starting duo in the backfield in an effort to try to provide a stop to Marvin Harrison Jr as a deep threat. But it’s not really clear if Rapp/Hamlin was a choice made due to best option or a choice made due to only option. The Bills, who lost All-pros Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde over the offseason, brought in veteran Mike Edwards and drafted rookie Cole Bishop this spring. However, due to injuries, neither of them has played a down of football in a Bills uniform. While Edwards and Bishop are both healthy as of now, how well they can play in this Buffalo defense is yet to be seen. Their lack of experience in Babich’s defense could cause a problem should Rapp or Hamlin need to be replaced.
One more injury that could affect Buffalo’s defensive scheme is the one that has linebacker Matt Milano sitting out for an unspecified amount of time. It is estimated that Milano, who has been placed on the Injured Reserve list with a designation to return later in the season, is likely to not be available until after Thanksgiving. While the torn bicep injury that Buffalo’s All-Pro linebacker suffered in early August isn’t new news, it does mean that the Bills are riding with Dorian Williams who has been named the starter in just his second season. In 2023, Williams recorded just 25 tackles and 15 assists — not numbers that are going to instill fear in Arizona running back James Conner who ran for 1,040 yards last season. Behind Williams, the Bills have Baylon Spector, who has recorded a whole 8 tackles in his injury-ridden two seasons in the NFL, and undrafted rookie Joe Andreessen. Milano’s injury could be a big problem for Buffalo — or — maybe McDermott hits gold again in Williams like he did in Bernard who replaced Tremaine Edmunds with remarkable success just a year ago.
As for Arizona, they are entering the game down two wide receivers. First, Zay Jones was handed a five-game suspension and then rookie Xavier Weaver, who was anticipated to provide some yards after catch for an offense that has only one veteran receiver, has been ruled out with an oblique injury That veteran, Zach Pascal, had his best season in 2020 when he had 44 receptions for 629 yards as a member of the Indianapolis Colts. However, in the last three seasons Pascal hasn’t recorded a combined 600 yards. Obviously, the Cardinals are looking to this year’s fourth overall draft pick, Marvin Harrison, Jr., to be Murray’s biggest target, but if Arizona wants to keep the Bills defense honest, they are going to need more than one pass catcher.
Safety Joey Blount’s back injury could prove more troublesome to Arizona than either of their offensive injuries, however. While Blount, who is listed as questionable after an in-out-limited week of practice, is not a starter, if he is unable to play, the Cardinals won’t have any depth in their defensive backfield as they try to stop quarterback Josh Allen and his new arsenal of receivers who are all ready to prove that they are more than capable of keeping Buffalo’s high-energy offense running efficiently.
The injury advantage goes to Arizona this week. However, don’t count McDermott and Babich out for getting creative in keeping their defense fresh. The biggest position to watch will be linebacker – if Williams can fill the void left by Milano, Buffalo would hold the advantage; if not, there are going to have to be some serious conversations this week or this will be an uphill battle for too long.
Here is Buffalo’s complete inactive list for Sunday’s game:
- Cole Bishop (DB) - Bishop was drafted in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft but suffered a shoulder injury at training camp on July 30. While he worked his way back from the injury, the Bills decided to hold him out of the season opener.
- Dawuane Smoot (DE) - Smoot was added to the injury report on Friday as a non-participant with a toe injury and was downgraded to out on Saturday.
- Javon Solomon (DE) - Solomon was ruled out on Friday with an oblique injury, and he did not practice throughout the week.
- Matt Milano (LB) - Milano is on the Injured Reserve list with a designation to return later in the season. He is expected to be out until after Thanksgiving.
- Tyler Bass (K) - Bass is dealing with a calf injury, and it is unclear when he will be back.
- Will Clapp (OL) - Clapp joined the Bills in March as a free agent, and he is in his seventh NFL season. He was elevated from the practice squad.
- Kameron Cline (DE) - Cline joined the Bills in 2020 and has played in five career games. He was elevated from the practice squad.
The Bills will also be missing a few key players on offense. Gabe Davis (WR), Taylor Rapp (S), and Rasul Douglas (CB) are among those inactive.
With these absences, it will be interesting to see how the Bills perform against the Cardinals. Buffalo has been a strong team in recent years, but they will have to overcome these injuries if they want to start the season off on a winning note.
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