Any hope of defensive tackle Ed Oliver making a quick return to the Buffalo Bills was likely dashed when he was spotted at the team facility on Monday.
Oliver was a surprise entry to the injury report last week, suffering a foot injury after a teammate stepped on him at practice. The veteran defensive tackle missed last week’s game against the New York Jets and now appears to be on track to miss Thursday’s divisional showdown as well.
Ed Oliver Still in Walking Boot
Bills reporters didn’t learn about Oliver’s injury until he was spotted in a walking boot in the middle of last week, with the team’s staff later saying he would miss Sunday’s game. While the Bills ultimately didn’t need Oliver in the 30-10 win over the Jets, his long-term status remains unclear.
As SI.com’s Ralph Ventre noted, the Bills appear to be on track to lose Oliver for Thursday’s game against the Miami Dolphins — and could lose star linebacker Matt Milano as well. As Ventre noted, Oliver was still in the walking boot as the team started practice for the week.
With a September 18 home date against the Miami Dolphins looming, Bills’ defensive tackle Ed Oliver and linebacker Matt Milano were unavailable for Monday’s practice in Orchard Park,” Ventre noted. “Of the six players on the official injury report, all of whom play on the defensive side, Oliver and Milano were the lone two non-participants.
“Reporters noticed Oliver continuing to use a walking boot while at the team facility on Monday.”
Oliver had one of the best games of his career in a thrilling win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1, disrupting quarterback Lamar Jackson and forcing a late fumble from running back Derrick Henry that sparked the 41-40 victory.
The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia wrote that it appears both Oliver and Milano could be on track to miss this week’s game.
“With a game in just four days, it’s a matter of whether the Bills will have any of that defensive trio available to play the Dolphins,” Buscaglia wrote. “The context clues of how they all looked on Sunday are not exactly promising, and the Bills may just want to play it safe given that they’ll have a 10-day break ahead of their Week 4 game. The Bills may need to do it again in Week 3 with a makeshift group in key areas.”