Bills HC provides encouraging update about CB Taron Johnson's forearm injury

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott provided an update about cornerback Taron Johnson's forearm injury.

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The Buffalo Bills took care of business on a short week against the Miami Dolphins, but they were forced to do so sans one of their top defensive players in stalwart slot defender Taron Johnson.

The veteran cornerback injured his forearm early during Buffalo’s Week 1 clash with the Arizona Cardinals, leaving the game after playing on just seven snaps. The team may have avoided the worst-case scenario, however, as it did not place the defender on injured reserve ahead of its Week 2 contest; this would imply that the Bills believe he’ll be ready sooner rather than later, as placing Johnson on injured reserve would have allowed the team to sign another player to its active roster ahead of its Thursday Night Football matchup (while making Johnson ineligible for the next four games).

Head coach Sean McDermott spoke about the team seemingly avoiding IR during his Friday media availability, sounding hopeful as he warned that Buffalo still has to deal with the ailment one day at a time.

Related: Bills still undecided on whether LB Terrel Bernard will be placed on injured reserve

“We’re hoping it’s a good thing, that we deemed it not necessary to put him on IR," McDermott said. "It is important though to continue to take it one day and one week at a time just because the injury is still new, but our hope is it’s actually, it’ll be prior to that four weeks that would normally garner the IR designation there. We’ll just take it one day at a time.”

Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

Johnson has developed into an integral piece of a Buffalo defense that plays nickel on the vast majority of its snaps, establishing himself as one of the league’s best slot defenders throughout his professional career. He’s coming off a stellar 2023 campaign in which he tallied 98 tackles, eight pass deflections, and three forced fumbles, earning second-team All-Pro honors for his effort.

Buffalo will be happy to ultimately get Johnson back, as his presence allows the defense to function in its intended form. Johnson's injury coincides with ailments to linebackers Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard, leaving glaring holes in the second level of the team's defense.

The unit seems to be in good hands, though, as the Bills still notched three interceptions and held Miami down to just 10 points to move to 2-0 on the season on Thursday night.

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