Bills' Final Week 1 Injury Report: Three Players Are Questionable to Face Texans

The Buffalo Bills' 53-man roster is in good shape health wise heading into Sunday's season opener on the road against the Houston Texans.

Only three Bills' players — two backups and one rotational defensive lineman — appear on the week's final injury report.

Down lineman TJ Sanders and third-down running back Ty Johnson were limited participants at Friday's practice, which represents an upgrade from Thursday's absences.

Second-string nickel cornerback Jordan Hancock, who missed Wednesday's practice, took another step forward on Friday by improving from limited to full participation.

All three players are officially questionable to play when Buffalo opens the season with 1 p.m. ET kickoff on September 13.

"TJ Sanders, Jordan Hancock, Ty Johnson — all will be questionable for the game. We'll take it up to game time and see what that looks like," said head coach Joe Brady after Friday's practice.

With Sanders listed as a first-team defensive end on the Bills' 3-4 front, Landon Jackson figures to start in the event the former is unavailable come game time. That would leave Buffalo with only five total down linemen for the day.

Johnson, who practiced for the first time in more than one month on Friday, may need a few more days before jumping into live game action. Should that be the case, the Bills will presumably look to elevate Frank Gore Jr. from the practice squad to handle RB3 duties.

Bills Ty Johnson runs through a gauntlet drill during Bills Training Camp at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford on Aug. 1, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

A lot healthier this time around

Naturally, NFL teams are going to be healthier in Week 1 as opposed to Week 12, so it's no surprise that the Bills head into this road matchup in much better shape that they did last November. It's also worth noting that Brady tweaked the team's work schedule this past summer.

Buffalo had 16 players on its injury report ahead of last year's 23-19 road loss. Most notably, tight end Dalton Kincaid missed the game as did wide receiver Curtis Samuel. Keon Coleman was held out as an extension of being benched the week prior.

Meanwhile, first-round cornerback Maxwell Hairston, starting linebacker Terrel Bernard and starting right tackle Spencer Brown all left the Thursday night affair due to injuries and did not return.

Bills' Official Injury Report (Week 1)

FRIDAY

DB Jordan Hancock (quad) — FP
(Game: QUESTIONABLE)

RB Ty Johnson (hamstring) — LP
(Game: QUESTIONABLE)

DL TJ Sanders (knee) — LP
(Game: QUESTIONABLE)

THURSDAY

RB Ty Johnson (hamstring) — DNP

DB Jordan Hancock (quad) — LP

DL TJ Sanders (knee) — DNP

WEDNESDAY

RB Ty Johnson (hamstring) — DNP

DB Jordan Hancock (quad) — DNP

DL TJ Sanders (knee) — LP

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