Bills HC Sean McDermott Reveals Grim Update on LB Matt Milano.
Any small hope the Buffalo Bills may have held that Matt Milano might return to the field this season now appears gone for good.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott provided an update on the injured linebacker this week, closing the door on any idea that he could play again this season. As The Athletic’s Joe Buscalia noted on November 17, McDermott did offer some hope that defensive tackle DaQuan Jones could come back this season but said Milano would not be coming off injured reserve after his Week 5 injury.
“Bills HC Sean McDermott said DT DaQuan Jones has ‘an outside chance’ of returning this season. As of now, he doesn’t think LB Matt Milano has a chance to return this year,” Buscalia shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
While Milano may not be able to take the field again in 2023, he is still making his presence felt with teammates.
Matt Milano Helping Young Teammate
While he has been rehabbing his fractured leg, Milano has remained active with the team and assumed a mentoring role for second-year linebacker Terrel Bernard, who took over the middle linebacker spot that had been held down by Tremaine Edmunds.
“I talk to him every day… He’s giving us tips, giving me little things to work on and things that he sees during the game that I can work on,” Bernard told reporters. “He has been everything you expect a leader to be … His voice is super powerful.”
The Bills still missed Milano’s presence on the field. An All-Pro and Pro Bowler in 2022, Milano was on pace for another strong season in 2023 with 50 total tackles, two interceptions, two passes defended and a forced fumble in five games.
In October, Bills safety Micah Hyde lamented the loss of Milano and noted how strong he was performing this season.
“You can talk about next man up, it does hurt for sure,” Hyde said. “All-Pro Lano, that’s what we call him because he is All-Pro. He’s sideline to sideline, making plays on the ball and you’ve seen it in the first five weeks of the season.”
Bills Reeling From Injuries
The Bills have been hit with a number of other key injuries this season, including cornerback Tre’Davious White who suffered a torn Achilles. Second-year cornerback Christian Benford has also missed time while Kaiir Elam was placed on injured reserve, leaving the Bills to rely heavily on two veteran newcomers — free agent Josh Norman and trade-deadline acquisition Rasul Douglas.
On the other side of the ball, the Bills lost veteran running back Damien Harris to a neck injury. McDermott said this week he does not know when Harris might be able to return to the field.
“I wish I could tell you more,” McDermott said, via the Buffalo News. “I don’t think right now that he’s ready to entertain any of that. So, we’ll see where it goes rest of the season at this point.”
As Bills reporter Maddy Glab noted, the Bills could soon have the help of another veteran who signed to the practice squad to add more depth to the backfield.
“Sean McDermott says Leonard Fournette has been a nice addition to the team and continues to learn the offense McDermott says if not this week, then the weeks ahead he will be a ‘big time consideration’ for call up,” Glab wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
