Bills wide receiver DJ Moore and safety Damar Hamlin had limited participation again Friday, but neither has a game status.
Moore will play through a shoulder injury and Hamlin a ribs injury.
The Bills list defensive lineman T.J. Sanders (illness) as doubtful after a second consecutive limited practice. He did not practice Wednesday.
Running back Ray Davis, who was added to the report Thursday with a hamstring injury, was limited Friday and is questionable. Cornerback Christian Benford (toe) also is questionable after three consecutive missed practices.
Bills Clips
The Patriots will be missing a couple of defensive starters in Buffalo on Sunday.
Head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters at his Friday press conference that cornerback Christian Gonzalez and defensive tackle Christian Barmore have been ruled out for Week 4. Both players are dealing with shoulder injuries that kept them from practicing this week.
Gonzalez had eight tackles and five passes defensed in the first three weeks of the season. Charles Woods is expected to start in his place against the Bills.
Barmore has four tackles, a sack and three quarterback hits this season. Milton Williams, Cory Durden, and Joshua Farmer will take on more responsibility on the defensive line with Barmore out of action.
The focus of the moment in New England is the stunning regression of quarterback Drake Maye. On Wednesday, both Maye and coach Mike Vrabel addressed the situation with reporters. On Thursday, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels fielded questions about Maye.
McDaniels disagrees with the notion that Maye has issues with confidence.
“I’ve played golf with him, pickleball with him,” McDaniels said. “I’ve watched him play football, and I’m not really sure what changes that for him. He’s blessed in that regard, you know? When I hit a tee shot in the woods, my confidence is shattered, you know, and then I’m gonna do it again and again and again. He doesn’t really do that. He can do that, and then the next one’s down the middle, it’s 340 [yards], and you’re sitting there going, ‘How did that happen?’ And I think his mindset is — and it’s the way you have to be as a quarterback. It’s not too dissimilar to being a cornerback. You know, when you say, ‘You gotta have a short memory. Yeah, you’re gonna give up a catch.’ And quarterbacks, you know, if you throw the ball enough, something bad’s gonna happen, you know? And yes, there are things that we can do better. Yes, there are things that we can work on to try to make some of the negative scenarios that we’ve had happen go away, you know, and that’s what he’s focused on, you know? But his demeanor, his countenance, his facial expressions, his ability to, interject things in the meetings has not changed, you know? And, you know, and I love that about the kid. I think, like I said, he’s blessed in that regard, because I think there’s, you know, there’s people that sometimes let those things weigh on them.”
In that same vein, McDaniels said earlier in the session that Maye has “no yips.”
But it’s one thing to shake off a bad slice, or an improperly pickled ball, when no one is looking. Thousands are scrutinizing every move Maye makes in person, and millions are watching on TV. The pressure is much greater at Gillette Stadium than it is at Bushwood Country Club.
Whatever the source of Maye’s struggles may be, the coaching staff needs to fix it. Quickly. A loss on Sunday would put the Bills at 4-0 and the Patriots at 1-3. That would match their entire loss total from 2025.
The Bills got one of their key offensive players back on the field on Thursday.
Receiver Keon Coleman was a limited participant in the day’s session after he was sidelined for Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury.
Coleman, in his third season, has caught eight passes for 101 yards so far in 2026.
Linebacker Joe Andreessen (knee) and defensive lineman T.J. Sanders (illness) were also upgraded from DNP to limited.
Defensive lineman Deone Walker (quad) was upgraded from limited to full.
Cornerback Christian Benford (toe) missed a second consecutive practice.
Safety Damar Hamlin (ribs) and receiver DJ Moore (shoulder) remained limited.
Linebacker Terrel Bernard (knee), outside linebacker Bradley Chubb (thumb), guard Ar’maj Reed-Adams (elbow), and linebacker Dorian Williams (hip) remained full.
Running back Ray Davis (hamstring) was added to the report as a full participant. And defensive back Sam Franklin missed practice for personal reasons.
The Bills will host the Patriots on Sunday afternoon.
Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez missed his second practice of the week on Thursday.
Gonzalez is dealing with a shoulder injury after playing 52 of the team’s 59 defensive snaps in Week 3. Gonzalez had two tackles and a pass breakup in the 35-6 loss to the Jaguars.
Defensive tackle Christian Barmore (shoulder) and right tackle Morgan Moses (foot) were also out of practice for the second straight day. Fullback Reggie Gilliam (knee) was downgraded to out after being limited on Wednesday.
Cornerback Channing Canada (hamstring) was added to the report as a limited participant. Linebacker Christian Elliss (chest), linebacker Dre’Mont Jones (shoulder), tight end Eli Raridon (thigh), safety Brenden Schooler (back), and safety Craig Woodson (shoulder) were limited for the second time this week.
Quarterback Drake Maye (right shoulder) remained a full participant ahead of Sunday’s game against the Bills.
Greg Rousseau has put together an impressive start to the 2026 season and the league has taken notice.
Rousseau has been named AFC defensive player of the month for September.
Through three weeks, Rousseau leads the league with 6.0 sacks, eight tackles for loss, and three forced fumbles.
According to the league, he is the third player since 1982 — when the sack became an official stat — with at least 2.0 sacks in each of a team’s first three games. Mark Gastineau accomplished the feat in 1984 and Kevin Greene did it in 1998.
This is Rousseau’s first career defensive player of the month award.
He also is just 2.0 sacks away from his career-high of 8.0, which he registered in 2022 and 2024.
The Bills will host the Patriots on Sunday.
Wide receiver Keon Coleman missed the first Bills practice of the week.
Coleman was out with the ankle injury that led to him being listed as questionable to play last Sunday. Coleman played against the Chargers, but only took part in practice on the Friday before the game.
Linebacker Joe Andreesen (knee), cornerback Christian Benford (toe), and defensive lineman TJ Sanders (illness) were also out of practice.
Defensive tackle Deone Walker has been one of the defensive standouts for the Bills during their 3-0 start, but he was limited by a quad injury on Wednesday. Wide receiver DJ Moore (shoulder) and safety Damar Hamlin (ribs) were also limited.
Linebacker Terrel Bernard (knee), linebacker Bradley Chubb (thumb), guard Ar’maj Reed-Adams (elbow), and linebacker Dorian Williams (hip) were full participants.
Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez did not practice on Wednesday because of a shoulder injury.
In three games, he has eight tackles and five passes defensed.
Defensive tackle Christian Barmore (shoulder) and offensive tackle Morgan Moses (foot) also didn’t practice.
Quarterback Drake Maye has a right shoulder injury, but he was a full participant Wednesday.
It’s the first time he’s been on the report this season.
Maye, who has one touchdown and six interceptions, said the shoulder is not factor in his struggles.
“No, it hasn’t,” Maye said, via a transcript from the team. “I don’t think it impacts my decision-making, and that’s what makes and breaks play for quarterbacks. I don’t feel like we’re struggling to move the ball. I think we’re turning the football over, doing things that are preventing us from scoring touchdowns, and I think that’s one of the biggest things for me. I think we’ve had a history of good football when we don’t turn the football over, playing good football and finding ourselves on the right side of games. So, that’s the biggest thing, and I’m looking forward to another good week of practice. I felt good out there today.”
The Patriots list linebacker Christian Elliss (chest), fullback Reggie Gilliam (knee), linebacker Dre’Mont Jones (shoulder), tight end Eli Raridon (thigh), safety Brenden Schooler (back) and safety Craig Woodson (shoulder) were limited. Schooler begins his return to play off the non-football injury list, but is not eligible to play this week.
While Bills quarterback Josh Allen is the leading candidate to be league MVP, his teammate linebacker Greg Rousseau is making an early case for Defensive Player of the Year.
Rousseau has two sacks in each of the Bills’ three games, making him just the third player since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 to have multiple sacks in the first three games of a season. The others were Mark Gastineau with the 1984 Jets and Kevin Greene with the 1998 Panthers.
Greene had multiple sacks in each of the 1998 Panthers’ first four games, so Rousseau can tie Greene’s record with two sacks on Sunday against the Patriots, and break the record with two sacks in each of the next two games.
Rousseau’s six sacks are the most of any player in the NFL this season, and he also leads the league with eight tackles for loss and three forced fumbles. He’s currently sixth in Defensive Player of the Year odds at +1500, behind Houston’s Will Anderson at +300, Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson at +750, Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt at +900, Las Vegas’s Maxx Crosby at +1200 and Minnesota’s Dallas Turner at +1300.
Even with no touchdown passes and a pair of interceptions on Sunday against the Chargers, Bills quarterback Josh Allen remains the clear MVP favorite.
His Week 3 performance actually improved his odds.
Allen has gone from +500 to +260 to win his second NFL MVP award. Behind him currently is 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, at +425.
Purdy deserves to be high on the list. The 49ers are 3-0, and Purdy has an off-the-charts passer rating of 133.1. He has nine touchdown passes on only 83 attempts, with one interception. He’s averaging 9.5 yards per attempt. Purdy also has 93 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is currently +600, and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes sits at +800. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is at +850, and Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has odds of +1000.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, who was initially off the board after his hamstring injury, is buried in the field at +5500. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who came in second a year ago for the MVP award, is at +8000.
Last year’s winner, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, currently has odds of +2800.
