Buffalo Bills: Trent Murphy, Harrison Phillips inactive for Week 6

The Buffalo Bills announced that Trent Murphy and Harrison Phillips will be inactive alongside Dawson Knox for Week 6.

The past few weeks the Buffalo Bills have had some surprises when they have announced the inactives for that week and Monday was no different. The Bills knew they were going to be without starting tight end Dawson Knox but he was joined by Harrison Phillips and Trent Murphy, who are two healthy scratches this week.

It was certainly surprising to see Phillips and Murphy being inactive as they have been key parts of the rotation at defensive tackle and defensive end. However, the pass rush has been lacking and the Bills could be trying to free up more playing time for players like Vernon Butler and Darryl Johnson who provide more in that area.

However, the Buffalo Bills also elevated two players, defensive tackle Justin Zimmer and defensive end Bryan Cox Jr., from their practice squad for this game. This certainly makes sense and expect to see both players on the field for this game.

Zimmer saw some playing time in Week 1 against the New York Jets and played well. As for Bryan Cox Jr. he has spent time with the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns. While he didn’t play for McDermott during his time in Carolina, he did play for Eric Washington who was defensive coordinator for the Panthers and is now the defensive line coach for the Bills.

Another surprise inactive this week is linebacker Matt Milano, who will miss his second straight game due to a pec injury. There appeared to be a good chance he would play this week after practicing in full on Saturday. He will be replaced once again by Tyrel Dodson, who likely will face the tough challenge of slowing down tight end Travis Kelce.

The absence of Knox also creates another chance for Tyler Kroft to see extended snaps. The last time Kroft started was in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams and he finished the game with two touchdowns.

The other inactives for the Buffalo Bills are quarterback Jake Fromm, running back Zack Moss, and offensive lineman Quinton Spain.