The Buffalo Bills had quite the Sunday. From James Cook declining to practice for "business" reasons, Khalil Shakir having a confirmed injury that will sideline him for the next 4-5 weeks, and now an update on Maxwell Hairston, the Buffalo Bills 1st first-round cornerback out of Kentucky.
Any one of the above situations would be enough to get my heart rate up. Being a Bills fan, there is still some lingering trauma there. However, we finally got more of an update from none other than Buffalo Bills HC Sean McDermott. Mike Bundt, content creator with Trainwreck Sports, shared the video on X.
McDermott opened up to the media on the status of Hairston, giving the fanbase some clue as to the severity and when we could potentially see Hairston back on the football field.
Buffalo Bills HC Sean McDermott gives injury update on Maxwell Hairston
McDermott began, "It's going to take some time. He's week-to-week, this is probably going to take... I couldn't even tell you." The Buffalo Bills had avoided a major scare when, during practice, Hairston suffered a non-contact injury.
Circling back to McDermott's presser, he continued, "You know, it's similar kind of to what Cole went through last year. Not the same injury, but maybe a similar window of time. And, you know, there's a young player that you know is not only missing just the moving around but also the mental part of the experience you get through the reps."
That's when the preverbial (albeit obvious) mic drop moment happened. "And so, there's no way to avoid it; he's going to be behind when he comes back."
Bad, bad memories for Bills fans
I don't need to remind Bills fans of what happened to the defense in the final game against the Kansas City Chiefs last season in the playoffs, but defense was an issue.
Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane got their guy in Hairston, hoping to be an immediate improvement in the backfield. Starting camp with an injury of this severity, and the coach saying he's going to be behind, it's not a great feeling.
McDermott showed his hand a little bit more than we're used to, offering that it was a similar situation to S Cole Bishop, who also sustained an injury during training camp. In Bishop's case, his shoulder injury (in my opinion) played a significant role in his development. Bishop was unable to see the field as a starter until Week 5.
Just a few short weeks ago, Defensive Coordinator Bobby Babich discussed the importance of Bishop's camp and what it meant for his game. “He didn't play in training camp [last year]. Those were valuable reps. The jump from Cole has been really good so far.”
Hairston is going to miss some quality reps, something McDermott pointed out in his update, which is going to make things even more difficult for the 1st-round rookie looking to make an impact. Outside of QB, CB is arguably the toughest position in the game. Hairston is facing an uphill battle before the season even begins, but he has an entire city rooting for him.
Thank you, Brandon Beane
Shoutout, Brandon Beane, for making some offseason moves that allow the team to not slam the panic button (they might hit it lightly).
Here's hoping for a speedy recovery for Hairston. With the Lombardi as the ultimate goal, getting our first-round draft pick back and healthy is going to be huge. Get out bubble wrap if you have to.