Buffalo Bills Week 1 inactives against the Los Angeles Rams

Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)
Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills (Photo by Timothy T Ludwig/Getty Images)

The Buffalo Bills, fortunately, entered the regular season relatively healthy and didn’t have any players who looked likely to miss this game. On Wednesday, the Bills announced only Tommy Doyle and Quintin Morris were questionable and would be the only players with injury designations for this game.

However, this created some uncertainty about who might be inactive for this game. While all NFL teams are allowed 53 players on their roster during the season, they can only have 48 players active on game day.

Buffalo Bills include a few surprises in their inactives for Week 1

The Buffalo Bills’ inactives for this game include offensive tackle Tommy Doyle and tight end Quintin Morris, the two players who were questionable. This is not much of a surprise but the fact that wide receiver Khalil Shakir is joining them was not expected.

The fifth round draft pick had an excellent preseason and was listed as the starting punt returner for the Bills entering this game. The fact that he is inactive now raises the question of who might handle those responsibilities.

Based on the Week 1 depth chart, the Bills would likely go with Jamison Crowder, as he was listed as the backup punt returner. The coaching staff could also have Isaiah McKenzie or Micah Hyde handle these duties as both returned punts last year. The most likely scenario would be Crowder but it is worth watching who is back on the Rams’ first punt.

The other two players inactive for Week 1 are cornerback Cam Lewis and defensive end Shaq Lawson. The Bills have a number of players at both and this was likely a situation where the Bills wanted depth at other positions and couldn’t have five defensive ends or six cornerbacks active.

The Buffalo Bills Week 1 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams is set to kick off at 8:20 PM EST tonight.

Schedule