Bills HC updates injury timelines of LB Terrel Bernard, CB Taron Johnson

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott has provided injury updates on linebacker Terrel Bernard and cornerback Taron Johnson ahead of Week 5.

Kyle Silagyi | Sep 30, 2024

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The Buffalo Bills have been forced to wade through the 2024 season without two of their more prominent defensive contributors, as reigning second-team All-Pro nickel cornerback Taron Johnson suffered a forearm injury seven snaps into the team’s Week 1 outing before starting middle linebacker Terrel Bernard strained his pectoral early in Week 2.

The injuries have left the Bills with glaring holes in the second level of their defense, weaknesses that were oft-exposed in the team’s Week 4 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Head coach Sean McDermott spoke about Johnson and Bernard’s respective recovery timelines during his Monday media availability, stating that the latter player has a chance to return to practice this week.

“TB is improving, both are improving,” McDermott said. “TB probably more so at this point. We’ll see how the week flows for both of them, I do expect TB to be practicing at some point during the week. Taron, a little bit more of a question mark, at this point. We’ll see how it goes.”

Perhaps the most promising takeaway from McDermott’s comments is that he didn’t rule either defender out for this Sunday’s Week 5 clash with the Houston Texans, as he's ruled both out during his early-week availability ahead of each of the team’s last few contests.

Bernard returned to practice last week in a limited capacity, taking part in individual drills. He told reporters that he hoped to return in Week 5, but that doing so wasn’t a guarantee. Buffalo’s brass initially floated the idea of placing the third-year defender and team captain on injured reserve; doing so after Week 2 would have made him ineligible until Week 7, so a potential Week 5 return would indicate that they were wise in their judgment to keep him off the list.

Johnson, conversely, suffered his ailment before Bernard but has not yet returned to practice in an individual capacity. He, too, has expressed hope for returning in Week 5, but McDermott does not seem too optimistic about this possibility.

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McDermott went on to speak about whether or not the team felt any pressure to rush the two starters back into the lineup after its defense was rolled over in Week 4, allowing nearly 300 yards in the first half before ultimately allowing 35 points. The team’s second-level defenders looked particularly overmatched in the loss; the sideline boss stated that they can’t let recent on-field results cloud their process, and the team simply has to trust the word of their training staff.

“I think, more than anything, we have to trust our training staff,” McDermott said. “The players have to do that, as well. I think we do a good job of that here with just, ‘Hey, if they give us the green light, they give us the green light. If they don’t, then we’ve got to wait another week.’ We’ll just have to see where that goes.”

Additional updates on the two defenders will become available throughout the week as Buffalo prepares for its Week 5 showdown with the Houston Texans.

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