Veteran Bills DE to head to IR as wrist injury requires surgery

Buffalo Bills defensive end Dawuane Smoot will be sidelined for the next several weeks after suffering a wrist injury in Week 9.

Kyle Silagyi | Nov 4, 2024

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Buffalo Bills defensive end Dawuane Smoot will be placed on injured reserve after suffering a wrist injury in his team’s Week 9 win over the Miami Dolphins that will require surgery, head coach Sean McDermott revealed during his Monday media availability.

#Bills HC Sean McDermott says DE Dawuane Smoot (wrist) will need surgery and will be placed on IR
— Maddy Glab (@MadGlab) November 4, 2024

McDermott also stated that he is optimistic that Smoot will be able to return this season, though he's not yet sure if he'll ultimately be able to do so.

McDermott said he has some hope Smoot could return this season, but will need to learn what doctors discover about the severity of the issue during surgery.
— Nick Veronica (@NickVeronica) November 4, 2024

Smoot, a 29-year-old who inked a one-year deal with the Bills in May, left midway through Sunday’s game and was ruled out in the third quarter. He had carved out an important role as a rotational defender on Buffalo’s defensive line throughout his short time in Orchard Park, playing on 213 defensive snaps over seven games as he tallied 12 tackles and 1.5 sacks. The veteran recorded seven pressures and six run stops in his seven appearances, per PFF.

Smoot, when healthy, is quite comfortably Buffalo’s third-choice defensive end behind Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa, routinely out-snapping Casey Toohill and logging roughly the same number of snaps as Von Miller in games in which both were available. He brought a veteran presence and general reliability to the line, and though the Bills’ defensive end group will likely be able to survive with a combination of Rousseau, Epenesa, Miller, Toohill, and rookie Javon Solomon, Smoot’s absence will be felt.

Fortunately for Buffalo, the news of Smoot soon going on injured reserve comes roughly 24 hours before the 2024 NFL trade deadline, meaning that the team still has time to acquire a defensive lineman from outside the organization should it deem such a move necessary. The team also has Kingsley Jonathan and Kameron Cline as potential in-house options on the practice squad.

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