The Bills are heading into Week 10 with another familiar problem: even after a win, the injury list keeps growing.
Buffalo improved to 7-1 with a 23-6 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night, but cornerback Christian Benford came out of that game with a right wrist injury and did not finish. He was carted to the locker room, got an X-ray at halftime, returned for the start of the second half with his wrist taped, then exited again in the third quarter after taking contact while defending a run. He did not come back.
That’s the headline item as the Bills prepare to visit the New York Jets, who are 2-7, at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15, at MetLife Stadium.
Buffalo was already short-handed against Minnesota. Starting offensive linemen Dion Dawkins and Alec Anderson both sat out, and wide receiver Joshua Palmer was placed on injured reserve hours before kickoff.
Dawkins missed the game with a rib injury, opening the door for Tylan Grable to start at left tackle. Anderson was out with an ankle injury, and Austin Corbett stepped in at left guard. Anderson had injured his right leg in Buffalo’s Nov. 1 win over Baltimore but returned to that game.
Greg Gaines also missed his second straight game because of a calf injury that he first picked up in practice before the Baltimore game.
There was one more in-game scare Monday night: Dalton Kincaid briefly left after appearing to roll his left ankle early in the fourth quarter. He got attention on the sideline, came back, and finished with three catches for 28 yards.
Palmer’s move to injured reserve means he’s out for at least four games. He hurt his hamstring in the Nov. 1 win over Baltimore, sat out against Minnesota, and will miss the Jets game, Buffalo’s Nov. 22 matchup with Miami and the Thanksgiving night game against Kansas City.
The earliest he can return is Dec. 6 against New England. Through six games, he has four catches for 117 yards and two touchdowns.
Buffalo also has a few other injury situations worth tracking. Jordan Hancock opened his 21-day return-to-practice window on Nov. 4 after spending time on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, and he practiced on a limited basis all last week but was not activated before Monday’s game.
Zane Durant remains eligible to return once medically cleared after beginning the season on injured reserve with a neck injury. Tyrell Shavers had his 21-day practice window opened Oct. 28 while recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in Buffalo’s wild-card playoff win last season, and he practiced fully last week without being activated.
Dorian Strong is on the non-football injury list with a neck issue.
The Jets have their own injury concerns, starting with Garrett Wilson. The wideout missed Sunday’s 35-12 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs because of a concussion and must clear the NFL’s concussion protocol before he can face Buffalo.
Wilson entered the protocol after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit from Las Vegas Raiders safety Jeremy Chinn in New York’s 38-33 loss on Nov. 1.
He had 43 catches for 527 yards and three touchdowns before the injury.
Breece Hall returned against Kansas City after missing five games with a quadriceps injury and posted 61 rushing yards on 15 carries plus three catches for 26 yards.
Joseph Ossai has now missed four straight games with an ankle injury. In his first year with the Jets, he has played in only three games in 2026 and has nine tackles.
He also missed Weeks 1 and 2 with a preseason foot injury. New York signed him to a three-year, $34.5 million contract in March.
Nahshon Wright sat out against Kansas City with a back injury, and Trevin Wallace missed that game with a groin injury. Safety VJ Payne opened his 21-day return window on Nov. 4, practiced fully Wednesday through Friday, and still was not activated for Sunday’s game. He has to be activated before he can play against Buffalo.
The Jets also have a group of players on injured reserve, including Kingsley Jonathan, Kiko Mauigoa, Marcelino McCrary-Ball, Braiden McGregor, Max Mitchell, David Onyemata, Arian Smith, T’Vondre Sweat, Chip Trayanum and Tyler Baron.
NFL teams must submit practice participation reports on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for a Sunday game, and the game status report is due by 4 p.m. Friday.
In Other News...
Bills Trade Deadline Pressure Is Suddenly All About One Defensive Need
With less than 24 hours before the 2026 NFL trade deadline, the Bills are still weighing whether to make a move, and the conversation around Buffalo has narrowed to one obvious area: defense. ESPNs Troy Aikman said he spoke with general manager Brandon Beane about the possibility of adding help on that side of the ball, a sign the front office is at least exploring whether there is a deal worth making before the clock runs out.
Joe Buck also floated Budda Baker as a potential target, which only adds to the speculation around what Buffalo might be willing to do if it decides the roster needs a boost. For now, though, nothing official has happened, leaving the Bills in the familiar deadline spot of trying to balance urgency with the cost of making a move. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Just Got More Pressure As An AFC Rival Goes All In
The AFC race just got a little tighter for Buffalo after Jacksonville spent the days leading into the trade deadline loading up on defense. The Jaguars added safety Jessie Bates III from Atlanta, then followed with deals for defensive tackles Davon Godchaux and Jordan Davis from Philadelphia, a clear sign they are trying to fortify the middle of their defense and push harder in a crowded conference.
For the Bills, the timing matters as much as the names. Jacksonville paid for those upgrades with multiple future draft picks, a move that signals urgency now and confidence in the roster around it, and it adds another team in the AFC willing to act aggressively to close the gap. Buffalo has spent plenty of time measuring itself against the conferences best, and this kind of deadline swing is the sort that can reshape the path to January. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Defense Is Forcing A Bigger Question Than Fans Expected
Since the Week 7 bye, Buffalos defense has started looking like the unit the Bills expected it could be, holding opponents to far fewer yards and points in back-to-back games. The improvement has shown up across the board, with the pass rush getting home more often and the group playing with the kind of urgency that can change the feel of a game before the offense even settles in.
Greg Rousseau has been one of the voices pointing to the shift as something more lasting than a short burst, and the numbers back up the eye test even without needing much decoration. The bigger question now is less about whether the defense has found something and more about how Buffalo balances that rise with the steady work of Josh Allen and James Cook on the other side of the ball. [Read more 🡒]