Superstar WR, lockdown CB inactive for Bills’ Week 9 clash vs. Dolphins

The Buffalo Bills will be without wide receiver Amari Cooper and cornerback Christian Benford in their Week 9 clash with the Miami Dolphins.

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The Buffalo Bills will be without two key contributors in their Week 9 matchup with the Miami Dolphins, as both wide receiver Amari Cooper and cornerback Christian Benford have been made inactive for the divisional bout. Safety Mike Edwards, linebacker Nicholas Morrow, fullback Reggie Gilliam, offensive lineman Will Clapp, and defensive lineman Zion Logue round out the inactives list.

Head coach Sean McDermott designated both Cooper and Benford as questionable with wrist injuries on Friday, with neither being available being a rather significant blow. Cooper appeared to have suffered a stinger during Buffalo’s Week 8 win over the Seattle Seahawks, but he didn’t miss meaningful snaps; he was a limited participant in this week’s practices, taking part in the sessions with a heavily wrapped left wrist. Benford, too, seemingly injured his wrist in Week 8; he was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice before being limited on Thursday and Friday.

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Cooper, a five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver whom the Bills acquired from the Cleveland Browns in mid-October, has looked promising throughout his first two games with Buffalo, reeling in five passes for 69 yards and one touchdown. His mere presence has also had positive ramifications on the Bills’ aerial attack, as defenses must account for the 10-year veteran when he’s on the field and, thus, leave space for Buffalo’s other pass-catchers; Keon Coleman and Khalil Shakir have been the most significant benefactors of this, with the rookie posting 195 receiving yards over the past two games while Shakir caught nine passes for 107 yards in Week 8. What Buffalo's receiving corps will be able to accomplish in his absence will be something to look out for; wide receiver Jalen Virgil has been elevated from the practice squad to fill his gameday active spot.

Benford has quickly established himself as one of the Bills’ most important defenders over the first eight weeks of the season, playing as well as any cornerback in the NFL to start the campaign. He’s recorded 35 tackles, four pass deflections, and one interception thus far, allowing only 16 receptions for 142 yards, per PFF. Quarterbacks have a passer rating of just 65.6 when targeting Benford, per PFF, which is good for 10th among cornerbacks who have logged at least 100 snaps in coverage; former first-round pick Kaiir Elam could be set to get the start opposite Rasul Douglas in his place.

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Starting middle linebacker Terrel Bernard, who missed last week’s game with an ankle injury, is active against Miami.

The rest of the inactives list isn’t all that surprising. Gilliam was ruled out earlier this week with a hip injury while Edwards, Clapp, and Logue are inactives list mainstays. Undrafted linebacker Joe Andreesseen getting a gameday jersey over Nicholas Morrow is a fascinating development and a testament to the rookie’s strong special teams play last week.

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