The Buffalo Bills enter this week's game against the New England Patriots without any players ruled out. The team only has four players who were listed as questionable and two of them are active for today's game however there was one big surprise among the inactives.
For the first time since returning from the PUP list, Von Miller will miss today's game against the New England Patriots. The former All-Pro suffered a torn ACL last year but has not been able to make much of an impact this season with no sacks through 11 games.
The Bills coaching staff may have Miller inactive today if they expect the Patriots to run the ball more. Von Miller has been almost exclusively playing passing downs so a player like Kingsley Jonathan could be more effective against the run.
In addition to Miller, the Bills also have defensive tackle Linval Joseph inactive. The team signed him as a free agent during the season and he was a starter almost immediately.
This week though does mark the return of both A.J. Epenesa (who has missed the past two games) and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (who has been on injured reserve since Week 5). The return of these two players likely played a factor in the team having Miller and Linval Joseph inactive for today's game.
The Bills also have another starter on defense returning this week as Micah Hyde missed the past two weeks with a neck stinger but was able to practice in full on Friday and didn't have an injury designation.
The other two players who were questionable this week were Damar Hamlin, who was dealing with a shoulder injury. The return of Hyde has Hamlin once again being one of the inactives for the Buffalo Bills. The fourth player who was questionable was wide receiver Justin Shorter but with him still on injured reserve and not activated yesterday, he was not going to be available for this game.
The Buffalo Bills kick off the final home game of the regular season at 1 PM against the New England Patriots.
Buffalo Bills Week 17 Inactives vs. New England Patriots
- Alec Anderson (Offensive Tackle)
- Kaiir Elam (Cornerback)
- Linval Joseph (Defensive Tackle)
- Damar Hamlin (Safety)
- Von Miller (Defensive End)