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alaina getzenbergESPN
ORCHARD PARK, NY — One of the big questions of the Buffalo Bills’ offseason was when cornerback Tre’Davious White might return to the field after a torn ACL. Unfortunately for the Bills, that won’t happen any time soon.
The Bills placed White on the reserve/physically unable to perform list Tuesday to start the 2022 NFL season. He will miss at least the first four games of the season: at the Los Angeles Rams, against the Tennessee Titans on Monday Night Football, at the Miami Dolphins and at the Baltimore Ravens.
White tore his ACL on Thanksgiving Day in a night game against the New Orleans Saints, a game played in his home state. During the opening period of training camp, White was visible rehabbing on the sidelines and steadily increasing his training. There seemed to be optimism that he would return to the field, however, he was last seen training on July 29.
A clear return date is still missing. White’s surgery was also performed by an outside physician, according to general manager Brandon Beane, not one from the team.
“You’re conflating how we rehabilitate people with what they want to see,” Beane said last week. “So, understanding that, you have to all work collaboratively together in Tre’s best interest before we put him in there. So, we’re going to make sure we all agree that he’s ready to start practicing. And we’re not just going to say, ‘hey, on a Wednesday, Thursday, Tre, go out and play with him on Sunday.’
“…These other guys are getting ready for the season, they’ve practiced a lot and they’ve toughened up. We need to do that to be fair to him as well.”
In his absence last year, 2020 seventh-round pick Dane Jackson filled in for the rest of the 2021 season alongside outside cornerback Levi Wallace. Wallace is now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the team traded two spots to draft Kaiir Elam with the 23rd pick in the 2022 NFL draft. Jackson is set to be one of the team’s starters and Elam has been struggling with fellow rookie Christian Benford, a sixth-round pick out of Villanova, for the other role.
The rest of the Bills’ moves to trim the roster to 53 by Tuesday’s 4 pm ET deadline were largely expected. One of the team’s biggest deals was releasing tight end OJ Howard after signing him to a one-year, $3.5 million deal. The team’s backup tight ends, Tommy Sweeney and Quintin Morris, impressed enough to make the roster.
