The Buffalo Bills are starting to get healthier as their wild-card round playoff game approaches, and now could also be getting back a key player who missed last week’s game for personal reasons.
Wide receiver Amari Cooper did not join the team for the season finale loss to the New England Patriots as he was excused to attend to a family matter. Though Bills head coach Sean McDermott said early this week that he was not sure of Cooper’s timeline to return, the Pro Bowl wide receiver was ultimately back for practice on Wednesday and on track to take the field on Sunday.
Amari Cooper Back at Walk-Through
Matt Parrino of Syracuse.com reported on Jan. 8 that Cooper returned to the team and was participating in the walk-through on Wednesday to prepare for Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos. The team did not give specifics on the family matter that caused Cooper to miss the season finale, but the absence was enough to cause worry.
“Fans expressed concern last week when Cooper was excused from the team on Saturday and didn’t travel to New England for the regular season finale against the Patriots,” Parrino noted. “Not having him for Sunday’s playoff game is one concern, but the larger sentiment has been for Cooper and the well-being of his family.”
Cooper joined the Bills ahead of this season’s trade deadline in a deal with the Cleveland Browns. He appeared in four games, making 20 catches for 297 yards and two touchdowns.
The Bills have adopted what they call an “everybody eats” approach on offense, spreading the ball to a wide group of pass-catchers. The team set an NFL record this season with 13 different players catching a touchdown.
Bills Getting Healthier at the Right Time
After being hit with a number of key injuries during the season, the Bills are on the right track as the playoffs approach. McDermott said this week that linebacker Terrel Bernard is ready to return after missing the season finale loss to the Patriots.
As Parrino noted, the Bills lost Bernard at a key time last year.
“Bernard injured his ankle in the Bills’ Wild Card game against the Steelers last season and missed the divisional round game against the Kansas City Chiefs,” Parrino reported. “The Bills were without Bernard, star linebacker Matt Milano, and cornerback Christian Benford against the Chiefs. Those missing pieces hurt Buffalo against the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs.”
The Bills were forced last season to bring back veteran linebacker A.J. Klein, who signed late and ended up starting against the Chiefs in the divisional round. He struggled in coverage against tight end Travis Kelce, a key factor in the loss.
The Bills still be without one key player against the Broncos. Return specialist Brandon Codrington suffered a hamstring injury in last week’s game and McDermott said it was not certain whether he would be able to take the field in the wild-card round.
McDermott did could not make a definite determination for Codrington’s status.
“We’ll see. Like I said, it’s still kinda early in terms of the information coming from our medical team,” McDermott said, via SI.com.
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