We noted on Tuesday that the Bills will be without running back C.J. Spiller this week against the Bengals. But Spiller says he’s doing OK, and the decision to hold him out is more a precaution than a sign that he suffered a serious injury Sunday against the Lions.
“I feel fine and I’m feeling better every day,” Spiller said. ”It’s just a slow process, just taking it every day, getting as much treatment as I can to get back. So the main thing with these type of injuries that I experienced is it has to be 100 percent before you get back out there and further damage. Of course I want to be out there for my team, but you have to look at the long haul. I’d rather miss one, rather than miss the rest of the season. So I’ve put my pride aside and do what my trainer tells me to do and get ready to go.”
Spiller, who strained his hamstring on a 29-yard punt return, said he didn’t think it was a serious injury, but he was following the medical personnel’s advice to take things slowly in recovering.
“As soon as I turned the corner going up the field, I felt it, but I didn’t pay it any mind,” Spiller said. ”I thought it was just a cramp or whatever. Once I made the punter miss and cut back inside I felt it even more and I still didn’t kind of pay it any attention. But once I started walking back to the sideline I kind of felt it. I knew right away that it wasn’t right. We used good judgment by not finishing the game. I truly believe I would’ve damaged it more than what it was. It was a good call on both ends by me and the trainers.”
If the Bills were in playoff contention, there might be some pressure on Spiller to tough it out and get back on the field. But at 1-8, the Bills aren’t going to let their first-round draft pick back on the field until he’s 100 percent.
