Tremaine

Edmunds

The Bears held a walkthrough, so this was an estimated practice report, but it’s still notable that Edmunds was not on the field. As of now, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus is not concerned about Edmunds’ ability to suit up on Monday against the Saints.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Edmunds’ four-year deal is the largest contract for an inside linebacker in the NFL. This is apparently what teams do when they have over $90 million in cap space to spend on available players, as Edmunds will receive $50 million in guaranteed money on the deal. A two-time Pro Bowler, Edmunds was arguably one of the worst coverage linebackers in the league through his first four seasons but earned an elite 88.1 coverage grade on PFF in 2022. Boasting elite size and athleticism, Edmunds officially enters his age-25 season with lofty expectations after signing this historic deal.

Edmunds is a free agent who could be priced out of Buffalo’s plans, but neither Terrel Bernard nor Baylon Spector have proven reliable enough to replace Edmunds. Edmunds is coming off what Buscaglia describes as a career-best season. The more negative spin on that is that Edmunds’ 81.9 PFF grade in 2022 was the highest of his career by about 30 points. Edmunds will only turn 25 in May, so he’ll be a hot free agent despite a history of rough play.

With back-to-back DNPs after not playing in Week 10 or Week 11, it’s likely that Edmunds will be ruled out for Thursday. Tyrel Dodson has been playing in his place. Buffalo’s defense has not played up to their early-season form with Edmunds out.

He left Week 10’s game with the injury and it helped open up the middle of the field for Minnesota’s comeback. Tyrel Dodson replaced him. It’s good news for Cleveland’s run game and David Njoku that Edmunds will be sidelined.

Edmunds was on the injury report with this same groin injury before the game and was questionable to play. He likely aggravated the injury. The Bills have turned to Tyrel Dodson for the time being.

Edmunds typically plays every snap for the Buffalo defense when healthy so his loss shouldn’t go overlooked this week. The fourth-year linebacker has excelled in run-defense this year, notching a trio of TFLs and 55 combined tackles. His absence should clear a few extra running lanes for Jonathan Taylor, who was in line for another RB1 day regardless.

The Bills’ “other” first-rounder in 2018, Edmunds literally just turned 23. He has spent the first three years of his career flying around the middle of the Bills defense, making big plays but earning poor marks from Pro Football Focus. The Bills are wisely gambling that a player so young will continue to grow more disciplined while doing a little bit of everything as an every-down player. Improving in coverage would greatly enhance Edmunds’ future projection.

The same is true for LB Tremaine Edmunds. Coming off one of the most stunning third-year leaps in NFL history, 24-year-old Allen revealed himself to be an MVP contender instead of franchise quarterback question mark in 2020. His campaign was the definition of “putting it all together,” and has the Bills in the conference title mix after more than two decades in the AFC wilderness. Allen is also a top-three Dynasty quarterback, one who can carry teams with both his passing and rushing.

Jones added that WLB Matt Milano (hamstring, questionable) is expected to play as well. The Bills were without both linebackers in Week 2 and Miami exploited their absences with TE Mike Gesicki. He went for 130 yards and a score on eight catches. Tyler Higbee now gets a much more difficult matchup but is still worth starting in fantasy. He scored three times on five catches in Week 2.