The Bills won’t have three players for their matchup against the Browns on Sunday, but one of their key offensive contributors is trending toward being on the field.
In his weekly Friday interview with WGR550, head coach Sean McDermott ruled out kicker Matt Prater (right quad), defensive tackle Jordan Phillips (ankle), and offensive tackle Chase Lundt (knee) for Week 16.
But McDermott told reporters that tight end Dalton Kincaid is set to practice on Friday after missing the first two days of the week with a knee injury. McDermott noted the Bills are trying to manage the knee injury as best they can this time of year and that Kincaid did not suffer a setback.
Kincaid has been back for the team’s last two games, catching four passes for 41 yards in the win over Cincinnati before recording three receptions for 34 yards in last week’s victory over New England.
Left tackle Dion Dawkins is also set to practice on Friday after missing the week’s first two days with an illness.
Buffalo’s full injury report with game statuses will be released later in the day.
The Bills added three players to their injury report on Thursday.
Punter Mitch Wishnowsky (right knee), defensive back Cam Lewis (hamstring) and offensive tackle Chase Lundt (knee) were limited after not being on the report on Wednesday.
Offensive tackle Dion Dawkins (illness), tight end Dalton Kincaid (knee), defensive tackle Jordan Phillips (ankle) and kicker Matt Prater (right quad) remained out of practice on Thursday.
Cornerback Christian Benford (toe) again was limited, and linebacker Terrel Bernard (elbow) and wide receiver Mecole Hardman (calf) returned to full participation after being limited on Wednesday.
Cornerback Taron Johnson (quad) and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (calf) were downgraded to limited after full participation on Wednesday.
Shedeur Sanders was unhappy with how he played in the Browns’ 31-3 loss to the Bears on Sunday. The rookie quarterback was even less happy after watching the film of his three-interception game.
“I just got to play better,” the quarterback said Wednesday, via Chris Easterling of beaconjournal.com. “Yeah. I just cannot make those costly turnovers and have the expectation to win.”
It was the worst of Sanders’ four starts as he completed 18 of 35 passes for 177 yards with three interceptions, while taking five sacks.
“I just got to get more completions,” Sanders said. “I got to get more completions and even whenever we’re down or anything I can’t press. I just got to remain having those mental notes to myself. Just work within the game and just keep driving the ball. Get first downs.”
Sanders has averaged 224.8 passing yards, which was helped by his 364 yards against the Titans in Week 14. He had only two touchdowns in his first three starts.
“Kept playing,” Sanders said. “Kept playing. That’s progress. Of course, it’s not the result we want to do, and I definitely take that to heart because I understand when I play winning football and when I don’t. So it’s kind of understanding that, evaluating that and just moving forward.”
While Bills head coach Sean McDermott mentioned several injured players during his Wednesday press conference, he did not note two key offensive players who weren’t able to practice to start the week.
Tight end Dalton Kincaid (knee) and left tackle Dion Dawkins (illness) did not participate in what was a walk-through practice, according to Buffalo’s Wednesday injury report.
Kincaid has been dealing with a knee injury since last month, though he was able to return for the Dec. 7 game against Cincinnati. He also played last Sunday’s game against the Patriots with three full practices leading up to the contest.
In 10 games this season, Kincaid has 36 receptions for 523 yards with five touchdowns.
Kicker Matt Prater (right quad) and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips (ankle) were also listed as non-participants.
Cornerback Christian Benford (toe), linebacker Terrel Bernard (elbow), and receiver Mecole Hardman (calf) were all listed as limited.
Cornerback Taron Johnson (quad) and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (calf) were listed as full.
With the Dolphins apparently moving on from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the next question becomes where his career will continue.
Plenty of teams will be looking for quarterbacks in the offseason. Tagovailoa has shown that he can operate an offense at a high level, when the play that’s called is there. When the play that’s called is stymied by the defense, things often go haywire.
Former Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard, who spent the early part of the season with the Colts before retiring, said after the Colts blew out the Dolphins in Week 1 that, if the first read is taken away, Tua slips into “panic mode.”
Whatever the label, he freezes. As the defender approaches, he doesn’t throw the ball away. He lacks the agility and speed to run away from the pressure and make something happen, like Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and/or Lamar Jackson. The play just disintegrates.
And while the Dolphins have tried, in vain, to coach him toward a solution for a play that goes sideways, another coach may think that he can do what neither Brian Flores nor Mike McDaniel have been able to accomplish in six NFL seasons.
It all comes down to the options available for the teams that will be looking for a veteran quarterback. Those teams currently include, in our assessment, the Jets (he’s 7-0 against them), Steelers, Browns, Raiders, Vikings, Falcons, and Cardinals.
If the Dolphins cut Tua, he can sign with another team for the veteran minimum, like the Steelers did last year with Wilson. It’ll be a low-risk, high-reward option for a team that believes it can get more out of Tua than the Dolphins did.
And if enough teams are interested, perhaps a trade becomes possible. Even if the Dolphins would have to pay a lot of the money Tua is owed next year.
It’s not a crazy thought, even if it won’t be easy to get him to bail on a bad play before the bad play becomes a sack or a fumble or an interception. Given the good things he has shown he can do — good enough to get a $53.1 million per year contract — some team will be willing to give Tua a try.
