The Buffalo Bills got some bad news on Monday when they found out Harrison Phillips had torn his ACL. However, they are well-equipped to handle this loss with the depth on the roster.
The Buffalo Bills are 3-0 for the first time since 2011 and have a huge match up on Sunday against the New England Patriots. However, they will be without one of their key defensive players as they announced defensive tackle Harrison Phillips suffered a torn ACL against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The 2018 third round pick was having a great start to the season and had three tackles and 0.5 sacks this season. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier on Monday said Phillips was given the game ball for his play against the New York Giants, according to Joe Buscaglia.
#Bills DC Leslie Frazier on the Harrison Phillips injury: Harrison was coming into his own, really playing well for us. Got a game ball last week. It's unfortunate.
— Joe Buscaglia (@JoeBuscaglia) September 23, 2019
The question is what do the Bills and the coaching staff do now to replace the loss of Phillips? The good news is that with the players on the roster, they have some talent that can step up.
The first player to see an increase in playing time will likely be another Phillips, Jordan Phillips, who has also been playing well this year. The former Miami Dolphin has six tackles and one sack, which came in Week 3 against the Bengals, to start the year.
The Bills also have depth on their practice squad with players like Vincent Taylor and Kyle Peko. Taylor is also a former Miami Dolphin and was a sixth round pick of the Dolphins in 2017. He was signed to the practice squad earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Kyle Peko spent two seasons with the Denver Broncos before joining the Bills this offseason. He spent the entire offseason and training camp with the team before being cut. However, was signed to their practice squad.
It is certainly disappointing to lose a player like Harrison Phillips, who really looked like he on his way to a career season. The good news for the Bills though is they have the depth at the position that can minimize the impact of losing Phillips.