The Bills ruled out three players for Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns, which will now be played in Detroit.
Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (groin/heel), cornerback Tre’Davious White and defensive end Greg Rousseau (ankle) will not play, coach Sean McDermott.
The Bills canceled practice Friday due to weather conditions. Earlier in the week, the Bills had to scale back Wednesday’s practice, as they were missing too many players from injuries or illness.
Edmunds and Rousseau have not practiced this week. While White has been a full participant in practice, he will miss his third game since being activated to the 53-man roster.
“Yeah, he’s just not ready to play,” coach Sean McDermott said on White.
Quarterback Josh Allen (right elbow) was limited in practice all week, but he does not have an injury designation headed into the game.
“The plan this week is very similar to where it was last week, and today would have been similar to last Friday as well, where he was limited,” McDermott said on Allen.
Safety Jordan Poyer (elbow), cornerback Kaiir Elam (ankle) and fullback Reggie Gilliam (illness) are questionable for Sunday.
Poyer, who was limited Wednesday and Thursday, was projected as a full participant Friday. Elam was listed as a full participant Thursday and Friday.
Gilliam did not practice Wednesday with an illness, returned to full participation Thursday, and was listed as limited Friday.
Three players did not practice Thursday with illness: defensive back Cam Lewis, defensive tackle Jordan Phillips and wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie. Lewis and Phillips also did not practice Wednesday with illness. All three were listed as full participants Friday.
“Most of those guys are trending in the right direction, just as a group, so no need to get more specific at this point,” McDermott said Friday.
Three other players missed Wednesday but returned as full participants Thursday: linebacker Matt Milano, defensive tackle Tim Settle and Gilliam.
The Bills are currently thin at wide receiver. Buffalo placed wide receiver Jake Kumerow (ankle) on injured reserve on Thursday. McDermott said the team will see if he is able to return this season.
With Kumerow on IR, Bills have just four wide receivers on the active roster. Jamison Crowder went on IR in midseason, and Marquez Stevenson, who started the year on IR with a foot injury, had his 21-day window opened Wednesday.
“With Speedy (Stevenson) coming back there, I think he looked pretty good coming off the injury,” McDermott said. “He's been out for a number of weeks. And then we have some other young players there, and then Tanner (Gentry) has been with us for a few years and done a good job. So, we'll see what we need to do potentially game-time wise with that. And I think all those guys are giving us great effort in practice.”
Gentry, KeeSean Johnson and Isaiah Coulter are the receivers on the practice squad.
With Kumerow moved to IR and an open spot, the Bills claimed linebacker A.J. Klein off waivers from Chicago. Klein previously played with Buffalo the last two seasons, when he appeared in 31 games, starting 15. The tenth-year linebacker entered the league with the Carolina Panthers in 2013, extending his familiarity with McDermott even further.
General Manager Brandon Beane said Thursday that when the Bills saw Klein was released, they began discussing the possibility of bringing him back internally.
“Tremaine has missed practice a couple days here with the groin, so he's a good insurance piece,” Beane said on Klein. “He's stepped in for us before. So, another guy, another piece. We'll see what happens from that standpoint. I don't know that he'll play this week, but get him back in the mix and see if he can help us out from a depth standpoint.”
Klein was able to arrive in Buffalo ahead of the snowstorm, passing his physical Thursday in Western New York. McDermott said Friday that he had not yet seen Klein in person, but that the team was able to “get him some resources in his hands before the snow really started.” Like Beane, McDermott emphasized Klein’s understanding of the Bills’ defense, while balancing a quick turnaround and no practice Friday.
“Him being in the system for multiple years before, I think his recall will be pretty quick,” McDermott said. “We'll see how it goes once we can get around him here in person and then we'll see if his number's called this weekend here.”
Cleveland has ruled out defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey (head), guard Michael Dunn (back) and defensive back D'Anthony Bell (concussion).
Tight end David Njoku was a limited participant Thursday and Friday with an ankle injury and is listed as questionable. He has missed the last two games but told reporters that he expects to play.
Cornerback Greg Newsome II was added to the injury report Friday as a limited participant after a collision with a teamate in practice. He was evaluated for a concussion and then listed as out.
