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Alaina Getzenberg, ESPN
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills will be without another key member of their defense Sunday against the New England Patriots with defensive tackle Ed Oliver ruled out of the game with a toe injury.
Coach Sean McDermott announced the news on Buffalo radio station WGR 550 on Friday with the official injury report coming out later Friday afternoon. Oliver has not practiced all week because of the injury. He did warmup with the team on Friday but did not participate in individual or team drills.
Tight end Quintin Morris (ankle) and running back Damien Harris (concussion and neck) are also out for Sunday’s game in Foxborough with the Bills placing Harris on injured reserve later Friday. The team signed running back Ty Johnson from the practice squad to the active roster in a corresponding movce. Harris, who was taken off the field in an ambulance in the second quarter of the Bills’ 14-9 win over the New York Giants last week, will not face the team he played for over the previous four seasons. Johnson joins second-year back James Cook and veteran Latavius Murray as the team’s only running backs.
Wide receiver Deonte Harty is the team’s other primary kick returner without Harris available.
Defensive back and special teams player Cam Lewis is also questionable for the game with a shoulder injury.
Oliver played 87% of the snaps against the Giants, a career high, with fellow starting defensive tackle DaQuan Jones on injured reserve with a pectoral injury. Oliver has played 80% or more of the defensive snaps in the past two games.
“The defense with Ed Oliver on the field is better with him, as opposed to him standing on the sideline,” assistant head coach and defensive line coach Eric Washington said on Oliver’s workload against the Giants. “You want Ed out there and also want to make sure I utilize the rotation to keep him fresh to keep him explosive. … I think Ed can handle anything. I don’t think Ed will ask to come out of the game. I have to do a great job of just managing that and utilizing the guys that we have, but Ed fought all the way until the end of the ballgame. And that’s just who he is. That’s his character.”
Oliver has four sacks this season and a team-high nine tackles for loss.
Without Oliver and Jones, the Bills will rely on a rotation of Jordan Phillips, Tim Settle and Poona Ford. It would not be a surprise to see defensive tackle Kendal Vickers elevated from the practice squad for the game.
Tight ends Dawson Knox (wrist) and rookie Dalton Kincaid (cleared from concussion protocol this week) are the other two tight ends on the active roster and have no injury designation for the game.
