Matt

Milano

It’s a brutal blow for the Bills and Milano, who saw his 2023 campaign come to an end due to a fractured leg and torn ACL suffered in Week 5. According to Schefter, Milano will undergo surgery to repair his torn biceps “with the hope of trying to return later this season, possibly in December.” One of the top linebackers in the league, Milano, a former fifth-round pick from the 2017 draft, was named a First-Team All-Pro in 2022 and has totaled 10 interceptions and 58 TFLs in the 90 games he’s appeared in.

Milano, who suffered a fractured leg and torn ACL in Week 5, will miss the remainder of the regular season. It’s a major blow for the Buffalo defense, which has been solid in the early season. The Jaguars in Week 5 ran wild against the Bills after Milano’s exit, and we could see Bills opponents do the same in the coming weeks.

According to Ian Rapoport, Milano is also having an MRI on his ACL, but the organization fears this is a season-ending knee injury. Losing Milano for the season just one week after losing cornerback Tre’Davious White to an ACL tear is a brutal blow for this defense. Milano is one of the best linebackers in the NFL and a crucial component of Buffalo’s defense. Simply put, there is no replacing him. Without Milano on the field, Travis Etienne gashed the Bills on the ground and found lots of soft space in the middle of the field as a receiver. That could become a trend for other running backs in the coming weeks.

Milano was ruled out in the second quarter. Per NFL Network’s Jamie Erdahl, Milano had a full cast on his leg, pointing to a major injury. Milano going down is another hit to a defense that just lost CB Tre’Davious White (Achilles) for the season.

A former fifth-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Milano was a First-team All-Pro in 2022. One of the better coverage linebackers in the NFL, his three interceptions tied a previous career-high set in 2018, while his 82.2 PFF coverage grade ranked fourth among qualified linebackers. Milano will be 29 at the start of next season and should have plenty of productive years ahead of him on his current deal. ESPN’s Adam Schefter notes that Milano’s new deal also clears $6 million in cap space for the Bills.

Milano was able to get in a limited practice after two straight DNPs. He’s got a history of playing off early DNPs this season and we’d say Milano has a real chance to play against the Jets. It would be a big boost for the Bills defense if Milano was able to play.

Back-to-back DNPs put Milano on the questionable line, though he has played off two DNPs earlier this year in Week 9. Milano is one of Buffalo’s best defensive players and he’d be sorely missed against the Jets on Sunday if he weren’t able to go.

The star off-ball linebacker got in a limited session and is probably on the optimistic side of questionable after not missing a snap in Week 8’s win over the Packers. He did miss the first two practices of the week, but this could possibly just be needed maintenance.

That’s back-to-back missed days for Buffalo’s top off-ball linebacker. Milano played 100% of the snaps in Week 8’s win over Green Bay, so it was surprising to see him listed and more surprising still that he’s missed the first two days of practice this week. He’s likely to draw a questionable designation on the final Week 9 practice report as long as he can get in a limited session on Friday.

Most teams struggle to contain Travis Kelce, but it’ll be an especially tall task for the Bills without one of their starting linebackers. This one looks like it’s going to be an absolute shootout between two of the league’s best offenses.