At the Buffalo Bills organized team activity (OTA) practice on Tuesday, one starting defensive back was wearing a red jersey, indicating that no player could make contact with him. Later, he explained why, and it may not be good news for the Bills defense.
Taron Johnson, the Bills’ 2018 fourth-round draft pick, 121st overall, out of Weber State put together a second-team All-Pro season in 2023, with 72 solo tackles and 98 combined. But not by coincidence, 2023 was also the first and only season of Johnson’s seven year career that saw him play in, and start, every game for his team.
That changed in 2024, when he sustained a forearm fracture in Buffalo’s season opener against the Arizona Cardinals.
Forearm Injury Shortened Johnson’s Season
“The injury occurred early in the game when Johnson dropped to a knee during a defensive drive and was subsequently ruled out of the game,” recounted Vritti Johar of ComingSoon.net, adding that the injury happened sometime during the Cardinals game-opening 70-yard touchdown drive.
After testing the forearm on the sideline, Johnson went to the locker room â and didn’t come back until Week Six when the Bills faced the divisional rival New York Jets.
In all, the forearm injury cost Johnson four games and all but the first drive of a fifth. He was also held out of the regular season finale against the New England Patriots, which was a meaningless game as far as playoff seedings were concerned.
But Johnson was good for the playoffs â until the fourth quarter of the Bills’ divisional playoff showdown with the Baltimore Ravens. Buffalo won that game, too, but in the fourth quarter Johnson fell on his shoulder attempting a tackle. Speculation at the time was that he had a subluxation of the left shoulder.
“Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson threw deep intended for tight end Isaiah Likely,” recounted Rochester Democrat-Chronicle reporter Ryan Miller at the time. “The pass was off target but Johnson continued making an effort while trailing Likely.”
Johnson Reveals Offseason Surgery to Repair Shoulder
Unfortunately for Johnson, and for the Bills’ defense, the injury was significantly worse than a subluxation, which is “a minor or incomplete dislocation in which the joint surfaces still touch but are not in normal relation to each other.” In a full dislocation, the two bones that form a joint become fully separated.
On Tuesday, Johnson spoke to Buffalo News reporter Katherine Fitzgerald and revealed what really happened on the play.
âI tore my labrum last year, so after the season, I got it repaired,â the 28-year-old Sacramento, California, native told Fitzgerald.
âFeels good, pretty much feels close to normal,â Johnson added. âSo, thatâs all I can really ask for, being healthy before training camp, so I can fully train and get ready for the season.â
According to Dr. Kyle Trimble, a physical therapist who operates the Banged up Bills site, recovery from surgery for a labral tear “typically carries a 6-9 month” period of recovery.
“Plenty of guys have had this procedure and return to play the next season without a drop off in play,” Trimble added.
Though his participation in the Bills’ OTA sessions was on a non-contact basis, Johnson told Fitzgerald that he expected to be fully ready for the start of training camp in late July. But based on a six to nine month recovery timetable, it remains possible that Johnson will not be ready until the regular season begins in September.
Johnson in 2025 will be entering the second year of a three-season, $31 million contract extension with the Bills.
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