The Buffalo Bills have been waiting since the summer to see what rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston can do on the field, and now head coach Sean McDermott is casting doubt on whether they will see him at all this season.
Hairston has been out since suffering a knee injury in training camp. He was placed on injured reserve to start the season and two weeks have now passed since the team was eligible to open his 21-day practice window.
Speaking to reporters this week, McDermott shared an ominous update for the first-round pick’s season.
Sean McDermott Won’t Rule Out Season-Ending IR
McDermott was asked this week about Hairston and kicker Tyler Bass, who also started the season on injured reserve and remains there after the opportunity to open his practice window. McDermott said the team would not be opening the window for either player this week.
When asked whether Hairston could miss the entire season, McDermott would not rule out the idea and said it remains to be determined what his timeline will look like.
âWeâll see,â McDermott said. âIâm just going off the medical teamâs messaging to me, and itâs really not much of a change at this point. Both are heading in the right direction.â
Hairston was expected to vie for the starting job alongside Christian Benford in the secondary. The Bills have instead turned to veteran Tre’Davious White, who returned to the team this offseason after being released in March 2024.
White had been splitting time with rookie Dorian Strong, who was the team’s Week 1 starter while White was returning from his own injury. But the team has lost Strong as well, placing the fellow rookie cornerback on injured reserve.
Positive Signs for Maxwell Hairston
While the team has yet to determine when, if at all, Hairston will return this season, there are some encouraging signs from practice this week. As SI.com writer Ronnie Eastham noted, Hairston has been ramping up his activity and looking stronger.
“Recent videos of Hairston during Bills practice show him running through drills with Bills coaches and trainers,” Eastham wrote. “He appears to have good movement, but you can see he is still wearing a sizable brace. If the Bills use their full 21-day window to activate Hairston, he’ll be active in time for the Week 10 matchup against the Miami Dolphins on November 9th.”
Eastham noted that the Bills could be running out of time to determine whether Hairston and Strong can return. If not, the team may need to seek some outside help to provide depth in the secondary for the back half of the season.
“The hope is that we’ll have more clarity on Dorian Strong’s injury as well, and he can make a return to the Bills’ defense,” Eastham wrote. “These two rookies, Hairston and Strong, should make the Bills’ secondary significantly better. The trade deadline is early November, and it will be interesting to see if the Bills’ general manager, Brandon Beane, decides to make any roster additions at the cornerback position.”
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