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Bills make key decision on LB Matt Milano's status vs. 49ers

The Buffalo Bills have activated former All-Pro linebacker Matt Milano from injured reserve.

Kyle Silagyi

Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano is in line to play in his first football game in over one year.

The team activated the veteran linebacker from injured reserve on Saturday afternoon, and per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, he’s expected to suit up in Buffalo’s Week 13 primetime bout with the San Francisco 49ers. This will be Milano’s first game since October 8, 2023, an international clash against the Jacksonville Jaguars in which the dynamic defender suffered a tibia fracture.

Milano was sidelined throughout the rest of the 2023 campaign with that injury and made his return during this past summer’s training camp, progressing well in his re-acclimation to the defense before suffering a mid-August bicep tear that ultimately landed him on injured reserve. Though the ailment was initially expected to sideline him “indefinitely,” the Bills’ brass has always maintained optimism that he would be able to return at some point in the 2024 campaign, with that hope now coming to fruition.

Buffalo opened his 21-day practice window ahead of its Week 11 clash with the Kansas City Chiefs, giving him that entire week and its bye to get back into the swing of things. He was a full participant in this week’s practices, and he, thus, looks set to play this Sunday night. The Bills have only had 52 players on their active roster for a few weeks, so a corresponding move was not needed alongside Milano’s activation.

It’s been over a year since fans have seen Milano take part in game action, so it’s perhaps easy to forget just how impactful of a defender the former All-Pro is when available; he’s tallied 488 tackles, 39 pass deflections, and 10 interceptions throughout his seven professional seasons, this stat line a testament to his seemingly innate nose for the football. Milano will replace sophomore Dorian Williams in the starting lineup upon his ultimate return, though head coach Sean McDermott has recently stated that the veteran will be on an initial pitch count.

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Kyle Silagyi
KYLE SILAGYI

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