With three games left in the regular season Buffalo's coaching staff appears close to shutting Aaron Schobel down for the season. The Bills starting defensive end hasn't played since Week 5 and his chances of returning to game action do not look promising.
After sitting the past two months, Schobel practiced on the ailing foot last week, but the results fell short of expectations.
"He pushed it pretty hard and the foot was sore," said head coach Dick Jauron. "The foot has been sore. He didn't feel great on it. At this time we're looking at it and thinking about it and we're considering all the options."
And Jauron admitted the options are few.
"We can go on practicing, but it just didn't appear like it was getting any better, and of course we can put him on injured reserve and we're looking at those things now."
Schobel along with Buffalo's training staff have exhausted all their options concerning the foot injury, but it appears that more time is what the injury needs more than anything else.
"We've seen all the specialists in the recent weeks," said Jauron. "We've done all the tests. He's tested it on the field. It just didn't really respond the way he or the way we wanted it to."
When asked if a final decision on the team's top pass rusher could happen by the end of the week, Jauron indicated that it was possible.
"I wouldn't project it, but it could be very quick," Jauron said. "Something could happen very quick or it could stretch out. It just depends on a lot of circumstances."
Schobel was excused from practice Wednesday.
