It's not quite midseason, but Buffalo's list of wounded is getting longer. Josh Reed and Jason Whittle were the latest casualties this past Sunday with Reed suffering a strained Achilles and a sprained ankle. Whittle meanwhile is trying to recover from a strained quadriceps.
"Jason Whittle felt okay (Monday)," said head coach Dick Jauron. "Josh left the game and that's a sprain of the Achilles and the ankle. We won't know much until the week progresses."
Buffalo is already down their best pass rusher in Aaron Schobel, who has missed each of the past two games with a foot injury. Starting right guard Brad Butler is down with a sprained knee, Ashton Youboty has not played in the past two games with a foot injury of his own and Melvin Fowler was only available on an emergency basis this past Sunday coming off an elbow injury. Fowler had to come in late when Whittle went down.
"They're getting better, but we won't really know until we test them a little bit," said Jauron.
The interior of Buffalo's line has been the hardest hit of late. Fowler should be ready to return to action, but the status of Butler and Whittle is uncertain right now.
If neither can go on Sunday the Bills will not have any interior reserves, which may prompt a roster move.
"We'll have to see how they are because we've got a number of them that do have injuries," Jauron said. "Jason, Brad and Melvin are all nicked up so we have to watch that thing closely and hope that they get well."
If not one of their two practice squad linemen Chris Denman or Brandon Rodd may have to be called up to the active roster as insurance.
Meanwhile at receiver the team's second leading receiver would be a sizable loss. Reed is the team's most veteran wideout, and has a knack for finding the soft spots in defensive zones. He's also the best blocking receiver on the roster.
Jauron is hopeful that he comes around soon.
"Josh has been a very resilient player, a very tough player," said Jauron. "But again we'll be careful with it and won't take any chances."
