Bills cornerback E.J. Gaines is going to miss a few weeks with a groin injury, so he’ll be joining another one of the team’s free agent acquisitions on the sideline for the time being.
Center Mitch Morse is in the concussion protocol after suffering the fourth documented concussion of his pro career in the team’s first practice of training camp. Gaines also has a lengthy injury history, which the Bills know well after having him on the team for the 2017 season.
General Manager Brandon Beane said that the team was aware of those histories, but felt they “would be fine and could play.” Beane also said that it’s hard to find players on the free agent market without some history of injuries.
“When you get guys that play in the league, rarely are you going to get a guy that comes in and has never had an injury. So you have to pick and choose,” Beane said, via NewYorkUpstate.com. “This is a physical game. We understand the guys that have a total clean history versus the guys that have had some things. Rarely are you going to find a top talented player that has no dings, that’s a good citizen and that fits our culture that get away [from teams]. [Those players] get resigned.”
Beane said that past injuries are sometimes “a predictor of it happening and sometimes it’s not.” Unfortunately for the Bills, it looks like history is repeating itself for two of the players they brought in this offseason.