These are the players that will be inactive for the Buffalo Bills in Week 1.
The Buffalo Bills entered Sunday knowing that Josh Norman, who was listed as their starter, would miss this week’s game after being ruled out on Friday. The team knows that Norman will miss more than just one week after they placed him on injured reserve Saturday.
In addition to Norman, the Buffalo Bills made the following players inactive: quarterback Jake Fromm, running back T.J. Yeldon, offensive lineman Ike Boettger, tight end Lee Smith and defensive tackle Vernon Butler.
Gameday roster + inactives for #NYJvsBUF: pic.twitter.com/18H1D1qO2g
— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) September 13, 2020
The two big surprises are along the defensive line as second round draft pick A.J. Epenesa is going to be inactive for his first NFL game. Epenesa was considered a steal during the NFL Draft as he fell out of the first round and was available for the Buffalo Bills in the second round.
Epenesa was third string on the unofficial depth chart and was behind Darryl Johnson. However, it was assumed he would at least be a part of the gameday roster.
The other big surprise is defensive tackle Vernon Butler being inactive. He was listed as the starter at defensive tackle next to Ed Oliver but was on the injury report as questionable. He seemed to have a good chance to play as he was a full participant in Thursday and Friday’s practice.
The Buffalo Bills must have known there was a chance Butler would not be able to go and was the reason they called up Justin Zimmer from the practice squad, who is active.
The absence of Butler this week though means the New York Jets will likely see a lot of Harrison Phillips at defensive tackle. He should get the start for the Buffalo Bills next to Oliver with Quinton Jefferson rotating in.