Bills LB To Be Out Of For The Rest Of The Season, Announces HC Sean McDermott
Buffalo Bills All-Pro linebacker Matt Milano suffered what many thought was a season-ending lower-body injury in Week 5’s 25-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, but there was still hope shortly after he was placed on IR that a late-season return could still be possible.
However, Bills coach Sean McDermott was asked about Milano’s status in November and his answer didn’t change when asked again on Tuesday, essentially putting an end to the slim chances of the star linebacker returning this season.
Even though he’s been forced off the field, Milano has continued to be the leader the Bills need during this final playoff push.
Earlier this season, Terrel Bernard and Micah Hyde both lauded Milano for being a “super powerful” voice for the team.
Any small hope the Buffalo Bills may have held that Matt Milano might return to the field this season now appears gone for good.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott provided an update on the injured linebacker this week, closing the door on any idea that he could play again this season.
As The Athletic’s Joe Buscalia noted on November 17, McDermott did offer some hope that defensive tackle DaQuan Jones could come back this season but said Milano would not be coming off injured reserve after his Week 5 injury.
“Bills HC Sean McDermott said DT DaQuan Jones has ‘an outside chance’ of returning this season. As of now, he doesn’t think LB Matt Milano has a chance to return this year,
While he has been rehabbing his fractured leg, Milano has remained active with the team and assumed a mentoring role for second-year linebacker Terrel Bernard, who took over the middle linebacker spot that had been held down by Tremaine Edmunds.
“I talk to him every day… He’s giving us tips, giving me little things to work on and things that he sees during the game that I can work on,”
An All-Pro and Pro Bowler in 2022, Milano was on pace for another strong season in 2023 with 50 total tackles, two interceptions, two passes defended and a forced fumble in five games.
In October, Bills safety Micah Hyde lamented the loss of Milano and noted how strong he was performing this season.
“You can talk about next man up, it does hurt for sure,”
Hyde said.
All-Pro Lano, that’s what we call him because he is All-Pro. He’s sideline to sideline, making plays on the ball and you’ve seen it in the first five weeks of the season.”
The Bills have been hit with a number of other key injuries this season, including cornerback Tre’Davious White who suffered a torn Achilles.
Second-year cornerback Christian Benford has also missed time while Kaiir Elam was placed on injured reserve, leaving the Bills to rely heavily on two veteran newcomers — free agent Josh Norman and trade-deadline acquisition Rasul Douglas.
On the other side of the ball, the Bills lost veteran running back Damien Harris to a neck injury. McDermott said this week he does not know when Harris might be able to return to the field.
