D.J. Moore was back on the field Wednesday, and that alone is a promising sign for the Buffalo Bills as they open prep for the Los Angeles Chargers.
Moore wore a red non-contact jersey after leaving Thursday night’s game against the Lions with what was reported as a sprained AC joint in his shoulder. Even so, he took part in individual drills and looked to be moving in the right direction less than a week after the injury.
The receiver sounded optimistic about his chances of suiting up Sunday.
“I felt great,” Moore said after practicing. “We still gotta go through some things, but we gonna be good.”
Moore said he realized two days after the Lions game that the injury would not be as serious as he first feared. It’s the latest test of his durability in his first season with Buffalo after the team traded for him in March. He also dealt with an ankle injury in the preseason opener, but he was back on the field just days later for a joint practice against the Cleveland Browns, even though general manager Brandon Beane and other team officials tried to keep him out.
Availability has long been part of Moore’s identity. He has played at least 15 games in each of his last seven seasons, and he said that same mindset is guiding him now as he works back from the shoulder issue he had in August.
“It’s more of what’s the threshold and pain tolerance,” Moore said.
The Bills had several other notable absences from Wednesday’s practice. Keon Coleman, Ed Oliver and T.J.
Sanders all sat out. Sanders had an appendectomy Tuesday night after missing the first two games with a knee injury.
Coleman briefly exited the Lions game and had his foot and ankle taped before returning a few minutes later. Oliver was a late scratch against Detroit after hurting his hip during warmups.
Before practice, Bills coach Joe Brady said the team is still sorting through the status of every injured player, and that the evaluation process will run through the rest of the week before any final call is made on who can play against the Chargers.
“There’ll be guys that are gonna be out there at practice, or that are not gonna be out there at practice today, that we still feel good about them playing in the game this week,” Brady said. “So we’ll just kind of see what it looks like throughout the week. Kind of go from there.”
If Moore and Coleman are limited or unavailable, Buffalo may need some of its other receivers to carry more of the load Sunday. Rookie Skyler Bell has been inactive through the first two games, but he could be in line for his first action if needed. Veterans Khalil Shakir and Joshua Palmer would also be asked to handle bigger roles.
Palmer has already made his chances count. Through two games, he has two catches, and both have gone for touchdowns.
“You want all your playmakers to want to ball,” Brady said. “But the reality of it is, there’s only one ball to go around. ...
It kind of speaks to his character and the process that he’s gone through this offseason getting healthy and Josh (Allen) has had a lot of trust in him. And he’s made those big-play opportunities.”
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