–The Bills will be without strong safety Micah Hyde for at least this game against the Titans, and possibly more, after he suffered a groin injury in the first quarter last week at Green Bay. Hyde was a Pro Bowl performer for the Bills in 2017 and he and free safety Jordan Poyer are glues on the defense, so it’s a big loss for Buffalo.
Rafael Bush will probably start for Hyde, but rookie Siran Neal, who made a sack on a blitz last week, will also get some snaps at the position, and head coach Sean McDermott thinks both will be up for the challenge.
Speaking specifically about Neal, a fifth-round pick out of Jacksonville State, McDermott said, “He did a good job in the game. I mean that’s the key when your number’s called when you’re not the primary starter, your number is called, you’ve got to be ready and that starts with preparation and what goes on during the week. I was proud of the way he stepped up and executed at a key moment in the game and got the sack. That guy (Aaron Rodgers) is not an easy guy to sack.”
–The Bills have dressed only four cornerbacks in each game this season, and it has hurt the defense because in every game, they have lost a player to injury. This week, they addressed the position by signing free agent Dontae Johnson, releasing recently-signed defensive end Nate Orchard to make room on the 53-man roster.
The 26-year-old Johnson spent the first four years of his career with the 49ers after they made him a fourth-round pick out of North Carolina State in 2014. He signed with the Seahawks in the offseason, but started camp on physically unable to perform and then was placed on injured reserve Sept. 8 from which he was released Sept. 27.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder played in all but one regular-season game in San Francisco and last season, he had a career-high seven passes defensed and a career-high 77 tackles. In Week 16 against the Jaguars he returned an interception of Blake Bortles for a touchdown.
“More of an outside player,” said McDermott. “Big, long corner again. Brandon (Beane, the general manager) feels like I feel, like we can take a look and see if he can help us. Right now he’s trying to acclimate himself to the system and whatnot so there’ll be a process here before we move forward.”
Ryan Lewis, who was signed to the practice squad after the preseason and had to be promoted to the active roster after Vontae Davis retired and Phillip Gaines dislocated his elbow, has been starting opposite Tre’Davious White. In reserve, all the Bills have is Lafayette Pitts and nickel corner Taron Johnson. Gaines may be able to return to play this week, and it’s uncertain if Dontae Johnson would dress as a fifth corner.
BY THE NUMBERS: 21 – Sacks allowed by the Bills through four games. This marks only the 29th time in NFL history that a team has allowed at least 21 sacks through the first four games.
