Jordan Matthews sidelined with chipped sternumThe Bills newest wide receiver won't be on the field anytime soon. After participating in his first practice with his new teammates, Jordan Matthews is listed as week to week after suffering a chip fracture in his sternum.
The injury happened when he went to the ground hard after competing with a defensive back for a pass. Matthews finished practiced, but afterwards he underwent examination for discomfort in his chest and the chip fracture was discovered.
It's a difficult pill for Matthews to swallow after being eager to get off to a fresh start in Buffalo. The receiver is now not expected to play in the Bills preseason game Thursday at Philadelphia.
**Ragland essentially a rookie
**Much has been made about Reggie Ragland's standing on Buffalo's depth chart. Initially expected to compete for the starting middle linebacker job with Preston Brown, Ragland is now splitting reps at middle linebacker with the third unit with Carl Bradford. But the circumstances surrounding Ragland are considerably different than they are for every other middle linebacker on the roster.
Coming off an ACL injury that forced him to miss the 2016 season, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier sees Ragland as a player who is experiencing NFL game action for the very first time, and in a new defensive scheme to boot.
He and his defensive staff seem to understand and recognize that Ragland needs time on the job before he's playing the instinctive and game changing kind of football he's capable of playing.
"It's important that he gets more reps," said Frazier. "The only way you can get that done is by practice and then competing in ball games. So in a lot of ways this is a rookie year for Reggie when you consider what happened last season.
"It's going to be a process and we understand that as a staff. We're going to work through it and give him every opportunity to improve. He's shown great strides from the beginning of training camp until now so hopefully he'll continue to make progress."
Milano earns praiseHe didn't have a big stat line in his first NFL game last week against Minnesota, but rookie LB Matt Milano did make an impact. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier mentioned him specifically after reviewing the game tape.
"There were some guys in the second and third units that stood out a little bit," said Frazier. "I really liked the way Matt Milano ran around and competed. I liked the way Gerald Hodges competed."
Hodges and Milano both ran with the second unit on defense. Milano had just one tackle and one pass breakup, but he reads plays well and was rarely out of position. He also hustles to the ball no matter where it is on the field, which will earn him points with Buffalo's defensive staff knowing what they demand in their scheme.
