A former All-Pro defender rejoined the Buffalo Bills’ defense on Thursday, as veteran linebacker Matt Milano took part in his first genuine in-season practice in over a year.
Buffalo opened the 30-year-old’s 21-day practice window on Wednesday, giving it until December 4 to either activate him to the 53-man roster or revert him to season-long injured reserve. Milano has spent the first 10 weeks of the 2024 campaign on IR after suffering a bicep tear in a mid-August training camp practice, and while he’s already been ruled out for the Bills’ Week 11 clash with the Kansas City Chiefs, the opening of his practice window would indicate that the team is anticipating his return sooner rather than later.
While Milano technically returned to practice on Wednesday, Buffalo held only a mid-week walkthrough, with Thursday serving as the defender’s first time participating in positional drills in several months. The Batavia Daily News’ Alex Brasky and WKBW’s Matt Bové were among the reporters in attendance at One Bills Drive to document Milano’s return, posting footage of his Thursday practice reps on Twitter.
Milano’s Thursday reps in a pads-on practice were his first in such a session in well over a year, as the veteran also missed the vast majority of Buffalo’s 2023 season after fracturing his tibia in a Week 5 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. His prolonged absence perhaps makes it easy to forget how dynamic a defender the former fifth-round pick is, but few linebackers are more impactful than Milano when he’s playing at full health; he’s recorded 39 pass deflections, 10 interceptions, nine fumble recoveries, and three forced fumbles throughout his seven-year professional career, this impressive ‘splash play’ stat-line serving as a testament to his sideline-to-sideline ability and seemingly innate nose for the football.
The Bills have a bye week after their Week 11 clash, with their Week 13 bout with the San Francisco 49ers taking place on December 1. Milano needs to be added to the 53-man roster by December 4, meaning he’ll be (theoretically) available for Buffalo’s Week 14 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams on December 8, at the latest.
