Buffalo Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis’ season is coming to a premature end after another major knee injury.
The 26-year-old tore his ACL in Sunday’s 27-24 wild-card win over his former team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, who gave Davis a three-year, $39 million deal before the 2024 season. He played in just 10 games for the Jags before suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee and was ultimately released in May.
Davis rejoined the Bills in September and went on to appear in six games for Buffalo, recording a dozen catches for 129 yards and one touchdown.
He caught two passes Sunday before taking a hard tackle from Jags safety Andrew Wingard and ultimately being carted off the field.
Further exacerbating matters for Buffalo is the hamstring issue facing veteran safety Jordan Poyer, who missed the entire second half of Sunday’s win. The Bills’ depleted secondary was forced to relay on rookie Jordan Hancock in Poyer’s absence, and could be forced to do so again in the divisional round if the 34-year-old cannot return to the field.
‘It was good to get [Hancock] the reps he got and did some really good things out there, especially for a young player that hasn’t played a ton, in terms of consistently back there,’ Bills head coach McDermott told reporters Monday. ‘He’s been in certain packages for us, but he did a good job.’
The 26-year-old tore his ACL in Sunday’s 27-24 wild-card win over his former team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, who gave Davis a three-year, $39 million deal before the 2024 season
Bills wide receiver Gabe Davis’ season is coming to a premature end after another knee injury
There is some good news for the Bills, who plan to open the practice windows of defensive tackle Ed Oliver and wide receiver Curtis Samuel – two contributors who have been on injured reserve.
‘Ed’s certainly a talented player,’ defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said. ‘He’s had some time off, so we just got to see where he’s at.’
Samuel’s return would come at a perfect time with Davis and Joshua Palmer (ankle) both done for the year.
Miraculously, quarterback Josh Allen did not miss a snap in Sunday’s win despite being checked for a concussion and appearing to hurt his knee on one of two touchdowns runs against the Jags.
McDermott conceded Allen is ‘certainly sore,’ but added: ‘He’s going to do whatever it takes to play.’
The Bills will be in Denver on Saturday to face the top-seeded and well-rested Broncos in the divisional round.
