Orchard Park, N.Y. (WBEN/AP) - Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott confirmed Thursday that linebacker Matt Milano will be out of the lineup indefinitely after suffering a bicep injury during practice Tuesday in Orchard Park.
"It’s unfortunate news regarding Matt Milano’s bicep injury. He’s a resilient person and we’re all here to support him," said McDermott ahead of Thursday's join practice with Steelers in Pittsburgh.
While the Bills did not put out a timetable on Milano's injury, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reports Milano will undergo surgery on his torn bicep with the hope of trying to return later this season, possibly in December.
Milano missed a large portion of last season after he fractured his leg in a Week 5 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
"That’s probably one of the hardest pills to swallow right now, is we just saw him work his butt off ... and now this happened," McDermott said. "He’s resilient and we’ve got to be resilient. We’ve got to move forward and be focused on solutions."
The four-time defending AFC East champion Bills currently don’t have many answers on their roster in once again having to replace the 2022 All-Pro, who plays a critical role in Buffalo’s two-linebacker defensive system alongside middle linebacker Terrel Bernard.
Though relatively undersized at 6-feet and 223 pounds, Milano’s sideline-to-sideline speed, and hard-hitting ability has led to him being a three-down player since his rookie season in 2017.
Milano’s injury further exposes the Bills’ lack of experience on defense following an offseason of salary cap-forced turnover, which led to the breakup of the team’s veteran secondary. Also not re-signed was backup linebacker Tyrel Dodson, who is now in Seattle and who started 10 games in place of Milano last season.
Milano’s primary backups are second-year player Dorian Williams and rookie fifth-round pick Edefuan Ulofoshio.
The only backup linebackers on Buffalo’s roster with more than three seasons of NFL experience are Deion Jones and Nicholas Morrow, who has missed a large portion of training camp with an ankle injury.
"Dorian’s going to do a good job. He’s been making progress," McDermott said. "You’re never going to replace a player like Matt or Matt’s influence. But it’s time for our team to move forward in a resilient manner and pick each other up. And guys like Dorian have to step up."
McDermott also announced backup third-year linebacker Baylon Spector will miss at least a week with a calf injury.