Sean McDermott provides Week 1 injury updates on three Bills' starters

Uncertainty surrounding status of Bills cornerbacks Tre'Davious White and Christian Benford, along with kicker Tyler Bass.

Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White comes over to Taylor Lewan and Will Compton, behind him, to say hello before Bills Training Camp at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford on Aug.6, 2025. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

To begin the Buffalo Bills' first regular-season week of practice, Sean McDermott provided a few updates on various injured players with the Week 1 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens coming up on Sunday night.

The most notable of which was regarding cornerback Tre’Davious White, who exited the final practice leading into Buffalo’s preseason finale with a lower-leg injury. McDermott revealed that White will miss Wednesday’s practice in Orchard Park but, at this point, is not being ruled out of playing in Sunday’s game against the Ravens.

“He’s a pro,” said McDermott on White. “He’s always going to be studying, whether he’s in the training room watching his iPad or at home or here. Getting his rehab in at the same time. He really wants to be out there, and we want him out there.”

Jun 11, 2025; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford (47) works out during Minicamp at Highmark Stadium. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Elsewhere at the cornerback position, Christian Benford is also dealing with a lower-leg injury and will be a limited participant during Wednesday’s session, per McDermott. Benford also sustained an apparent injury during the same practice in which White exited early. He initially deemed his exit as “rest” related, but McDermott confirmed before the practice that the team’s top coverage man is indeed dealing with an injury.

Kicker Tyler Bass was also expected to be limited during Wednesday’s practice, per McDermott. Bass has been dealing with pelvic-area soreness since he missed training camp practice on July 28.

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Buffalo worked out three free-agent kickers this past week — Eddy Pineiro, Zane Gonzalez, and Greg Joseph — but per McDermott, the team did not sign any of those players leading into Week 1. On Bass’ status for the game against Baltimore, McDermott said, “We’ll see.”

Finally, McDermott also stated that wide receiver Khalil Shakir would be limited during Wednesday’s practice. Shakir sustained a high-ankle sprain during the team’s ‘Return of the Blue and Red’ open practice at Highmark Stadium on Aug. 1. The team previously stated that Shakir should be ready to return for its Week 1 matchup.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Curtis Samuel returns the ball during the second half of the Buffalo Bills wild card game against the Denver Broncos at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Jan. 12, 2025. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Wide receiver Curtis Samuel returned to the practice field on Wednesday after missing ample time throughout training camp and the preseason. McDermott said Samuel was dealing with a “personal thing” leading to his most recent absence that held him out of Buffalo’s preseason finale. McDermott added that Samuel would be on the practice field on Wednesday.

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The most concerning of the group of injured players are the two cornerbacks — Benford and White.

With rookie CB Max Hairston out for at least the first four games of the season due to a knee injury, if Benford and/or White were to miss Sunday’s game, that would likely lead to the team inserting one of, if not both, Ja’Marcus Ingram and rookie Dorian Strong into the starting lineup which would be less than ideal going up against as talented of a passer as Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. On the bright side, it does not appear as if either player is dealing with a significant injury at this time.

The team’s official injury report will be released later this afternoon, with the injury designations provided for each player for the first time this season.

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