Sean McDermott gives update on Bills LB Matt Milano’s injury status after bye week

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott offered an update on linebacker Matt Milano's injury status upon the team's return from its bye week.

Kyle Silagyi | Nov 27, 2024

Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

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The Buffalo Bills did not activate All-Pro linebacker Matt Milano to their 53-man roster upon their return from their Week 12 bye week, but the veteran defender appears to be trending in the right direction. Head coach Sean McDermott told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that the 30-year-old will continue to practice throughout this week and could potentially play in Buffalo’s Week 13 Sunday Night Football bout with the San Francisco 49ers.

McDermott went on to talk about what he hopes to see from Milano as he ramps up toward his ultimate return, telling the press that he simply wants to see the dynamic defender re-acclimate to a normal in-season routine.

“Probably what you would expect just in terms of getting back into the flow, endurance, because he hasn’t played football in quite some time,” McDermott said. “Really just trying to take it one day at a time, one play at a time, not to sound like it’s coach speak, but that’s really what we’re looking at.”

Milano has spent the first 12 weeks of the 2024 season on injured reserve after suffering a bicep tear in mid-August. The team opened his 21-day practice window ahead of their Week 11 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs; though he did not suit up for the hotly anticipated conference clash, he did take his first in-season practice reps in over a year in the leadup to the contest.

Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

It’s been some time since Bills fans have seen Milano take the field, as he also missed the vast majority of the 2023 campaign after suffering a tibia fracture in the team’s Week 5 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. His prolonged absence has perhaps prompted some national pundits to forget how impactful of a player the former fifth-round pick is when available, but few linebackers are more consistently dynamic than a healthy Milano; he’s tallied 488 tackles, 39 pass deflections, and 10 interceptions as a professional, this stat line a testament to his seemingly innate nose for the football.

McDermott told reporters that Milano will be on a pitch count upon his ultimate return. The team does not technically have to activate Milano to the roster ahead of its Week 13 bout should his timeline not progress as hoped this week, as it has until December 4 to re-add him to the unit.

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