During the Buffalo Bills’ Saturday night “Return of the Red and Blue” practice, there were two key injuries on the offensive side of the ball. The first injury involved running back Ty Johnson, and then the second one involved center Connor McGovern. As of right now, we don’t know the extent of the injuries but the Bills should be preparing to not have them for some or all of the preseason.
While Johnson is a valuable member of the running back room, he isn’t the starter. As for McGovern, that’s a different story. He is the anchor of the offensive line and not having him in the lineup at any point during the regular season/playoffs would cause a lot of hardship for the offense.
Since being moved from guard to center in 2024, McGovern has performed exceptionally well and it’s no wonder why the Bills decided to extend him this past offseason. Even though McGovern most likely wouldn’t have played much, if at all during the preseason, it’s still not great to have him dealing with an injury when Week 1 is just over a month away.
While he should be good to go by then, it does make you wonder where if there are any setbacks, how would the depth behind hold up with the chemistry with not just the rest of the offensive line, but with Josh Allen as well.
Bills' center depth gets full attention with Connor McGovern injury
The three main centers on the roster are McGovern, Lloyd Cushenberry, and Sedrick Van Pran-Gragner. Cushenberry signed with the Bills this past offseason and was a starting center for both the Denver Broncos and Tennessee Titans in his career. Pran-Granger was drafted by the Bills in 2024 in the 5th-round out of Georgia.
Cushenberry did have some kind of success in his career, but last year’s performance in Tennessee, as well as a new coaching staff led to his release from the team. As for Pran-Granger, he was a solid pass protector in college but he hasn’t had the chance to show it in the pros because he’s been behind McGovern.
For any fans that have some doubts about the depth behind McGovern, offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. has given some reassurance about the center depth.
On Monday, Carmichael Jr. spoke with the media and per Andy Young of Spectrum New 1, Carmichael Jr. stated “We feel pretty good about where we’re at.”, specifically about the depth behind McGovern.
#Bills OC Pete Carmichael on depth behind C Connor McGovern, who left Saturday's practice injured:
— Andy Young (@AndyYoungTV) August 10, 2026
"We feel pretty good about where we're at."
Lloyd Cushenberry and Sedrick Van Pran Granger both got run there after McGovern went down. #BillsMafia
Depth for center position set to be heavily tested in preseason
Like I stated before, there was a chance that McGovern would have played very limited snaps, if at all. The preseason is not about evaluating the starters that are a lock to make the roster. It is set up for the competition between players competing for a spot. The backup center is an important position and now both Pran-Granger and Cushenberry will have their chances.
Both players will have the chance to show they don’t just deserve the backup position, but that they deserve a roster spot. Pran-Granger has a bit of an edge since he still has two years left on a rookie deal. However, if Cushenberry can make a serious push to be the backup, then things will get very interesting come roster cuts.
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