Bills LB Terrel Bernard Receives Positive Injury Update After Being Carted Off

Bills LB Terrel Bernard Receives Positive Injury Update After Being Carted Off

After being carted off with a towel over his head in Monday's 31-17 playoff win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, it looked like Buffalo Bills linebacker Terrel Bernard had potentially suffered a serious injury.

Bills coach Sean McDermott said afterwards that he had no updates on Bernard, who was taken in for X-rays to evaluate what the team called an ankle injury.

But shortly after the postgame press conferences, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport broke some news that will make Bills fans breathe a huge sigh of relief headed into the AFC Divisional against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

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Rapoport tweeted that Bernard's X-Rays were negative and he is "believed" to be dealing with an ankle sprain.

"Bills star LB Terrel Bernard, who has emerged as one of their top defenders, has what is believed to be an ankle sprain, source said. X-Rays were negative, MRI tomorrow," Rapoport tweeted.

This is huge news for Buffalo's defense given the impact Bernard has had this season and the fact that the Bills will need to be as healthy as possible against Mahomes and the Chiefs. Of course, Bernard's status for next week is still unclear, as ankle sprains can still be serious enough to forced missed time.

Bills LB Terrel Bernard Carted Off vs. Steelers

However, Bernard didn't break or tear anything and could, at the very least, return if the Bills continue to advance in the playoffs.

Bernard, a third-round pick out of Baylor in the 2022 draft, has posted 143 total tackles, 6.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries, five passes defended and three interceptions in 17 games this season in what has been a breakout year.