Bills HC provides update on whether team will place LB Terrel Bernard on IR

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott provided an update on whether the team believes it will need to place linebacker Terrel Bernard on injured reserve.

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Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott gave an encouraging update on middle linebacker Terrel Bernard’s injury status during his Saturday media availability, telling reporters that it doesn't look as though the team will need to place him on injured reserve.

“Don’t know anything else right now,” McDermott said. “I don’t think so, but I can’t make that statement with 100% certainty right now. I feel like we won’t have to go that direction.”

Bernard suffered a pectoral strain in the first quarter of Buffalo’s Week 2 Thursday Night Football win over the Miami Dolphins, leaving the game after just 15 snaps. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the day after the victory that the 25-year-old was set to miss “about a month,” with McDermott telling reporters later that day that the team was still undecided as to whether or not it would place the voice of its defense on IR.

Related: Bills vs. Jaguars NFL Week 3 Preview: A broken hand versus a broken team

One of two full-time team captains on the Bills’ roster, Bernard is an integral on-and-off-field presence at One Bills Drive. He emerged in his sophomore campaign after ascending into the starting middle linebacker role, recording a team-high 143 tackles while frequently putting his splash play ability on display in the form of 6.5 sacks, five pass deflections, three fumble recoveries, and three interceptions. He had recorded 13 tackles on the year before suffering his injury last week.

Bernard is one of several Buffalo second-level defenders currently working through ailments, as both linebacker Matt Milano and nickel cornerback Taron Johnson are sidelined with bicep and forearm injuries, respectively; Milano is out indefinitely while Johnson’s timeline is currently unknown. McDermott ruled both Bernard and Johnson out for the team’s Week 3 clash with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Wednesday; Baylon Spector and a platoon of Cam Lewis and Ja’Marcus Ingram are set to fill in for Bernard and Johnson, respectively, while sophomore linebacker Dorian Williams will play in place of Milano.

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