Joe Brady said Ed Oliver and Khalil Shakir were not held out for rest. They were out because of injuries, he said, after both players missed Tuesday’s practice and remained sidelined again as the Buffalo Bills prepared for a joint practice with the Cleveland Browns.
The clarification mattered because the absence of Oliver, a key piece up front, came as the Bills moved through a week built around work against Cleveland and a preseason game on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. ET. What looked at first like a possible veteran day off became something more serious once Brady addressed it before Thursday’s practice in Berea, Ohio.
Brady did not say exactly what was wrong. He said the full report would come in two weeks and suggested the issue could involve a hamstring, a groin, an ankle or a toe, noting that every player handles those injuries differently. That left the team with a narrow answer and a wide range of possibilities, which is often the most frustrating place for a player and a coach to be this time of year.
The timing only made the uncertainty sharper. The Bills were already dealing with a longer injury list on Thursday, when media in attendance reported that Oliver, Shakir, Keon Coleman, Skyler Bell, Ty Johnson, Jalon Kilgore, Connor McGovern and C.J. Gardner-Johnson were out. The absences came just after Tuesday’s practice at Highmark Stadium in Western New York, followed by Wednesday off, and just before the team’s joint practice with the Cleveland Browns in Berea.
Brady’s comments settled the first question, but not the one that matters most. The Bills now know Oliver and Shakir were not simply being rested, yet they still have to wait two weeks for the information that would explain how long either player may be out and what the week ahead will look like for a roster already carrying more than its share of injuries.
