Bills DT Ed Oliver out vs. Patriots due to toe injury
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills will be without another key member of their defense Sunday against the New England Patriots with defensive tackle Ed Oliver ruled out of the game with a toe injury.
Coach Sean McDermott announced the news on Buffalo radio station WGR 550 on Friday. Oliver has not practiced all week because of the injury but was present at the short portion of Friday’s practice open to the media, with the official injury report for the game expected to be released Friday afternoon.
McDermott said tight end Quintin Morris (ankle) and running back Damien Harris (concussion and neck) are also out for Sunday’s game in Foxborough. Harris, who was taken off the field in an ambulance in the second quarter of the Bills’ 14-9 win over the New York Giants last week, will not face the team he played for over the previous four seasons.
Oliver played 87% of the snaps against the Giants, a career high, with fellow starting defensive tackle DaQuan Jones on injured reserve with a pectoral injury. Oliver has played 80% or more of the defensive snaps in the past two games.
“The defense with Ed Oliver on the field is better with him, as opposed to him standing on the sideline,” assistant head coach and defensive line coach Eric Washington said on Oliver’s workload against the Giants. “You want Ed out there and also want to make sure I utilize the rotation to keep him fresh to keep him explosive. … I think Ed can handle anything. I don’t think Ed will ask to come out of the game. I have to do a great job of just managing that and utilizing the guys that we have, but Ed fought all the way until the end of the ballgame. And that’s just who he is. That’s his character.”
Oliver has four sacks this season and a team-high nine tackles for loss.
Without Oliver and Jones, the Bills will rely on a rotation of Jordan Phillips, Tim Settle and Poona Ford. It would not be a surprise to see defensive tackle Kendal Vickers elevated from the practice squad for the game.
Tight ends Dawson Knox (wrist) and rookie Dalton Kincaid (cleared from concussion protocol this week) are both expected to play despite injuries.