Bills Week 1 Injury Report: Star Lotulelei misses Wednesday’s practice
The Buffalo Bills announced their first practice injury report of the 2021 season.
The Buffalo Bills have been practicing for over a month now with the start of training camp at the end of July. However, with the first regular season game on Sunday, the Buffalo Bills released their first injury report of the 2021 season.
The team had only one player not practice with Star Lotulelei sitting out while he deals with a calf injury.
This could be a major issue for the Bills as they saw last year what this defense looks like without their big defensive tackle. Lotulelei opted out of last season due to the pandemic and the Bills struggled against the run for most of the season.
Wednesday injury report: pic.twitter.com/vkfAzZ8LCE
— Buffalo Bills PR (@BuffaloBillsPR) September 8, 2021
On Tuesday, head coach Sean McDermott was asked about Lotulelei and said he was “trending in the right direction.” If Lotulelei does miss the game Sunday, the pressure will be on Harrison Phillips and Vernon Butler to help against the run.
The good news is that Harrison Phillips looks like he may be passed a knee injury he suffered in the second preseason game against the Chicago Bears. It was the same knee that he tore his ACL in during the 2019 season. The fact that he was a full participant is a great sign for a player entering a pivotal year in his career.
Along with Phillips, Isaiah McKenzie was a full participant on Wednesday. The veteran receiver is expected to be the team’s primary returner, replacing Andre Roberts, and the team will need him on the field.
Buffalo also had two players limited on Wednesday with Taron Johnson dealing with a hand injury and Emmanuel Sanders dealing with a foot injury.
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The Buffalo Bills have two more practices, on Thursday and Friday, before they take the field on Sunday at 1 PM against the Pittsburgh Steelers.