Milano surging, whats the deal with Max Hairston, Cole Bishop injuries on Day 6 of Bills camp
Welcome to Buffalo Preview, your source for live Buffalo football discussion. News, analysis, opinions, and more, presented by ASM Publications and Bills Digest. Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of Buffalo pregame. I am your host, Alex Brasi, here with you once again after Bill’s day six at training camp at St. John Fischer looking forward to an off day are the Bills on Wednesday after another string of three straight practices. A lot to report from the practice field on this a beautiful Tuesday afternoon. And before we get into it, each week on Buffalo pregame, I’ll provide updates on the NFL, NHL, and more via daily articles, podcast videos, and more. Please subscribe to the Buffalo pregame with Alex Brasi Substack page or also on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast along with Bill’s Digest which we just released our pre-training camp issue before training camp and coming up with our pre-season issue in August. So plenty of coverage to go around. Excited to bring it to you the people here on Buffalo pregame. But let’s get into it. As I said, a lot of news to report. The first bit of news, a bit unfortunate as Max Haristston, the rookie cornerback, first round pick, goes down during individual drills with a non-cont injury during a pass rush drill off to the side individuals with the defensive backs. And it didn’t look good on the video posted by WGRZ’s John Scott who got a shot of Haristen’s reaction to the injury. We weren’t I wasn’t able to see the injury occur, but it was described by Dane Jackson after practice as a freak trip up and something that, like I said, was non-cont as well. And if you look at the video posted by John at his Twitter account, Johnscott TV, you see head athletic trainer Nate Breeski tending to Haristston, who starts the video with a towel over his head. Really broken up about that as it seemed to be something that was rather frightening. And then he administers the Lachman test. I believe that’s how you pronounce it. Greg Thompet pointed that out on X. That test tests a player’s ACL after he experiences an injury such as the one Max Haristen sustained. Now, he was able to rise to his feet, test it with a little bit of pressure, and he did flex the knee as well, but we all know that you can often move around with an ACL injury. It’s just when it comes to that change of direction and cutting and putting pressure on it that way, that’s when it becomes a concern for a player. And right after he rose to his feet, Haristston that is, a few veterans surrounded him as Christian Benford spent quite a bit of time giving him a lengthy embrace and speaking in his ear. And then Tradavius White came over as well to talk things through with Haristston briefly. And then you see him walk off the field with head athletic trainer Nate Breeski. Upon the video, it appears to be Let’s see here. Tell you which leg. It’s that left leg. Excuse me. The right leg. Right leg for Haristen. And then when he gets up with Breeski, he really puts his full weight on it as he bends and puts that pressure and then continues to walk with Breeski off the field. At one point, I believe he had to have trainers come over and help him off the field. So, he was somewhat able to walk under his own power, but leaving the field, he did get a little bit of help from athletic trainers as he exited the side practice field at St. John Fischer University. But it does seem as if he’s walking under most of his own power, just getting help from head athletic trainer Nate Breesky on his way into the medical tent. So, it’s uncertain the nature of Maxwell Haristen’s injury. It does appear to be the right knee, however. Dne Jackson terming it as a freak trip up, something that happened of the non-cont variety during a pass rush drill in individual work during Tuesday, day six of Bill’s training camp. Haristston also dealt with a hamstring tweak during the offseason program. Turned out to be fine after that. There was a lot of hubbhub surrounding that injury. It turned out he was fine. Also, you look at Dalton Concincaid, although a different example. We didn’t see him go down as dramatically as Haristen did today, but Concaid out with knee soreness on Monday. He returned to practice in full on Tuesday. So sometimes these injuries, as Taran Johnson said after practice to WKBW’s Matt Bove, sometimes these injuries are more significant or less significant than they appear at the time. And that’s obviously the hope with Maxwell Haristen as the prized first round rookie competing with Tradavius White for the quarterback two roll opposite Christian Benford. But let’s wait for an update from the team which might not come until Thursday’s practice. Let’s wait and before panicking. The team did have a prayer after practice I read. I didn’t I can’t remember who gave the report. So, I do apologize, but it it doesn’t look good at this time. Certainly, I’ll be the first to admit that. But you have to take these things slowly and and wait for things to develop with Max Haristen before getting too concerned. So, a day off Wednesday. We’ll likely hear from Shawn McDermott or Bobby Babage perhaps on Wednesday before practice. So stay tuned for an update. If I hear anything, I’ll bring it to you on my X account or Substack. Also check out si.com and SBNation for the updates as well. But I mentioned Tradavius White. I believe I mentioned him as Max Haristston is battling with Tradavius White for that quarterback two role. With the way Tradavius White has been playing so far during training camp, I think the concern level with Haristston’s injury should be a lot Let’s rephrase. I don’t think the concern level with the injury itself should be lessened, but a potential absence from a young player when you have a veteran like Tradavius White the way he’s been playing at training camp, I’d be mighty confident with Tradavius White moving forward. Hope the best for Max Haristen. You want your full complement of players at all times. There’s no doubt about that. But Tradavius White has been playing so good throughout training camp that he’s really starting, I think, to win over this fan base in terms of public opinion and how he can do the job during the regular season. He’s been all over the field. He has had some shortcomings when going up against some speedy receivers down the field. He’s gotten burned on a couple plays, but that’s training camp. He’s also had a handful of big plays and a couple big plays came today, both versus Joshua Palmer. One during one-on- ons. He was riding with Joshua Palmer all the way along the back line of the end zone, then eventually broke away from Palmer, came up with the interception of Josh Allen. So that was big for Tradavius White. and then later during team drills running hip-to-hip with Joshua Palmer, shadowing him down the field and breaking up the pass during team drills. So, Tavius White, two big plays on the Bills prize wide receiver edition and one during those one-on- ons that are very, very difficult situations for a defender. So, I like what I’ve seen from Tradavius White and I’ve said it all off seasonason. He’s going to be the quarterback, too. And he’s done nothing at all to dissuade me from that. And today, I mention him again because he makes the two big plays from against Palmer. One of which being the interception and the potential fallout of the Haristston injury. Trey White surging gives you confidence that he can lock down this quarterback two- roll. speed and athleticism are always going to be lacking with him as he gets older, 30 years old. But his knowledge of the game, knowledge within this system, his off the- field study, his film work, it’s always been a strength of his game and it seems it continues to be as he is starting to put on a show here at training camp. It’s been very very impressive to watch him as he’s remained sharp through two disastrous injuries for a quarterback and he he said it the other day probably the two worst injuries that a quarterback could sustain ACL Achilles but he’s been able to battle through and he’s come out the other side at least seemingly in good shape. He had a full season last year full off season looks ready to go. Love what I’ve seen from Tradavius White. And really the most impressive part about Tradavius White is his confidence. It’s at an all-time high. You can just see him out there oozing confidence. And he feels he belongs. When he came back from both of those injuries, you didn’t get the feeling that Traavius White was confident in his ability quite yet to the point where he felt like he belonged at that top level. Well, so far during training camp, he’s certainly showing people that he belongs. Now, there’s not great depth behind Tradavius White and Christian Benford. So, that’s why you need your full complement of players. You’re going to perhaps have to throw something at the wall and hope it sticks if Benford or White are to go out. But, you got Dane Jackson likely to be in line as the third quarterback, Jamarcus Ingram, who had a really nice interception on Monday. But, there’s been some cold moments for him as well. Well, Dane Jackson, you know what he’s going to be. He’s not going to offer you anything special. Just potential solid play within the system, but a low floor for him as well, I think. So hopefully not serious for Haristston, but good signs from Tradavius White as we continue to move along throughout training camp and we continue to move along throughout this podcast as we discuss another former AllPro really shining during today’s practice. And that was Matt Milano. And you got it, Josh Clark. And be be sure to log on to bangedup bills.com. Dr. Kyle Trimble bringing you the injury updates fast and fur furious as they come along. But thank you for the compliment Josh watching on YouTube. Please subscribe to the Buffalo pregame YouTube substack wherever you get your podcasts. Please like, share, subscribe, rate, all that good stuff. Really helps us out. But another former AllPro really shining these past few days at training camp and starting to build confidence in the fan base and I’m sure his coaches and teammates as well. And that’s Matt Milano. A big hit on KJ Hamler on Monday and KJ Hamler missed practice today. Now, I’m not laughing because it doesn’t seem like he’s injured. It’s just an illness and hopefully nothing too serious. We did see KJ Hamler out on the field today talking with his teammates. He had an iPad in his hand, but that hit would have made anybody a little bit sick, I think, as Milano de laid the lumber on Hamler on Monday. And on Tuesday, an interception of Josh Allen. A great read on the play. Allen looking down the left seam or sideline for Dalton Concincaid. looked like he was wide open, but Milano did such a great job backtracking after he made the read, extending, making the play, and then turning it around for some extra yardage. His teammates came rushing over for a celebration. He’s a favorite in that locker room, and I think when he’s making plays, that’s when this defense really gets cooking. And morale is at an all-time high. They really rally around him in that locker room. And it’s great to see Matt Milano back to producing at that high level, making those splash plays that we knew he’s capable of making before a couple of significant injuries in his own right. So, some of these aging stars, Matt Milano turned 31 on Monday and these guys are wiping the dust off, shaking the dust off, whatever you want to say, as they are really shining out there. Tradavius White and Matt Milano. You can just see the burst from Milano. I think I have mentioned it time and again and really the instincts are are what are most impressive and I think our guest yesterday, Matt Warren of SP Nation said it best. His instincts have always been one of the best parts about his game and I think at this point he’s really diagnosing things near the line of scrimmage at a different level than we’ve seen from these Bills linebackers. Terrell Bernard has really come on strong these last two years. Dorian Williams led the team in tackles last year, but Matt Milano is a potential allp prolevel talent. Not sure if he’s still got that left in the tank, but I love what I’ve seen from him and he can really help boost this linebacker group being here for a full season if he’s able to remain healthy. And with that big hit on Hamler, another good sign for Milano is he seems to have that pop in him still as well. Hamler’s a dimminionative player, not wellsized by any means, but good to see Milano’s pop and confidence on that play. And with the linebacker room banged up, you really need Milano at his best best and healthy if you’re going to get the most out of that group. Terrell Bernard hamstring, Dorian Williams, calf. Both are progressing. We’re off to the side today with athletic trainers. You had Balen Spectre, Shaq Thompson, Joanne Drees mixing in with the first team and and Dreon came up with the big hit of the day trying to replicate Milanos from the day before delivering the blow on Ty Johnson near the right sideline and it caused Ty Johnson to go down reach down for his leg and then he headed to the medical tent. It was a little bit not of a late hit, but a lateish hit for training camp as Hamler or excuse me, Johnson was running near the sideline and Andre kind of ushered him out of bounds with a big stick and Johnson left practice momentarily, came back to the sideline with his helmet, but I don’t think he returned to team drills. Just called it a day after that, I believe. And another player who had a similar situation, Cole Bishop left the field headed for the medical tent, returned later with his helmet on, but I didn’t see him return to team drills either. That injury happened relatively early in practice and he did not come back from my vantage point after his brief exit and then he came back with his helmet on and stood around his teammates. So, that’s something to monitor with Cole Bishop as he’s pursuing a starting role on this defense. really the only way he could lose it is if he gets banged up, sustain what I believe was an oblique injury during the offseason program, miss some time. And if the Bills caution with some of these guys speaks to anything, if Bishops to be nicked up at all, he could miss some time here with the blue and red scrimmage coming up on Friday. Needs to stay healthy to win that starting job. You got Demar Hamlin third in line. Haven’t seen much from Derek Forest. It’s really Hamlin in there all the time as the second safety and Cam Lewis has been making plays as well. His versatility at the safety position said a number of pass breakups over the past couple days. But speaking of the secondary and really deep down the field, it was bombs away for the Bills Tuesday, day six at Bills training camp. Both Mitch Trabiscy and Josh Allen connecting for what appeared to be 50 yard touchdown passes. Trabiscy locking up with newly acquired Dion Kaine, the wide receiver who was picked up on Tuesday, Monday, excuse me. And then undrafted rookie Steven Gznell came away with a deep touchdown reception from Josh Allen. A high arcing ball, beautifully thrown. Gno wide open. Looked like he beat Trey White. And I think Demar Hamlin on the play running wide open deep down the seam and Alen found him and stride for the score. Similar play between Trabiscy and Kane. Not the two players you want necessarily on the other end of those deep balls as you have Josh Allen’s throw to Steven Gazno just posted by the Bills. You can find that at Buffalo Bills on Twitter if you’d like to see that play. Just posted it just now. High arcing ball. Little bit wobbly now that I watched the replay, but GZnell made an acrobat acrobatic catch crashing to the turf. I don’t know if it was needed. I think he hit him relatively in stride. At least that’s how I initially reported it. Let’s see. Let’s Let’s watch the video back. I’ll get this up. Yeah, Gosnell kind of had to come back to the ball, maybe thrown behind where he was. An awkward adjustment though. I think it was a better ball than this replay is giving it credit for. One second. I gota This is good podcasting. I got to tweet this out. But Gosol could be a pre-season favorite as especially with all the injuries. you might need a player like GZnell to fit in a little bit more into this wide receiver conversation, especially before the true bullets start flying come regular season time. And I like what I see from Gausnell, the undrafted rookie out of Virginia Tech, showing some speed. He’s made a number of receptions today. I mean, uh, during camp this year. Sorry, still tweeting this out. Here’s the deep ball from Alen Gaznol. Yep, that’s good. See, multitasking. This This life is all about multitasking now. You got these information at all times, tweeting out updates from training camp and these replays that the Bills post, which are so great because the media not allowed to shoot portions of practice. So, we’re able to get the context on some of these plays when they’re gracious enough to post them for the fans. Yeah, Ellen let it fly. Little bit of a wobbly throw. Caught it right at the goal line, it appears, did Gausnell. But a great throw and catch. Not to linger on that point too long, but it was really nice to see these past couple of days the way the Bills have incorporated the deep passing game. It was something that was missing from their repertoire a season ago in that passing game. And Khalil Shakir, I think, is someone who they’re trying to work down the field. I’ve said it a little bit on this podcast. Somebody pointed it out on Twitter today and I agreed with him. I think they’re trying to extend Khalil Shakir’s game and also Dalton Concincaid has been targeted down the field quite a bit. So that’s a good sign. But other injuries for wide receivers, you have Elijah Moore still out with leg soreness. Although Brandon Bean did say about he and Curtis Samuel, who’s out with a hamstring injury, that both of those players could be returning soon. He said that on SiriusXM this afternoon. So, good signs for Moore and Samuel and the wide receiver room as a whole. Tyrell Shavers got carded off the other day, but he was out there on the side with athletic trainers. Ankle injury for him. Kaden Prather also dealing with a hamstring injury. He was off to the side working with athletic trainers. And then KJ Hamler missed due to what I believe was heat illness on Tuesday. But they need bodies. Gausnell and Kane came through. It was nice to see the depth kind of shine through when they were given the opportunities today, especially GZnell with the first team catching that deep ball from Josh Allen. And Mitch Trabiscy takes a step forward in this quarterback two battle. I think the deep ball where he and White uh or excuse me, the deep ball where he and Kane hooked up really was the shining light of his performance today. But Mike White on the other end of things threw an interception to Daquan Hardy. I know Trabiscy had a pick yesterday, Jamarcus Ingram picking him off, but had a really nice day today and I think that he took a step forward in that regard. And I just want to close out this pod with a few more news or a few few more news items, excuse me. A few more injury updates. You have Haristen out with what seems to be a knee injury. Terrell Bernard out with hamstring injury. Dorian Williams hamstring injur or calf injury. Elijah Moore, leg soreness. Curtis Samuel, hamstring injury. Kaden Prather, hamstring injury. Tyrell Shavers, ankle injury. KJ Hamler, heat illness. Dwayne Carter added to the injury report with an illness. Offensive lineman Mike Edwards added to the injury report with an illness. Spencer Brown’s still on the pup list with a back injury. Alec Anderson left Monday’s practice. He missed Tuesday’s practice with a knee injury. Dawson Knox is still not back from the non-OOT injury list with a hamstring injury, although he was off to the side, working with athletic trainers on Tuesday. And then Johnson and Bishop, who departed briefly, came back to the sideline, and I didn’t see them go back into team drills. Tyler Bass, kicker, still out with a pelvic area injury. Pelvic area soreness for Tyler Bass. kind of a strange injury there, but the Bills are cautious when it comes to training camp injuries. That lowers my concern level at this point, but the amount of guys with soft tissue injuries are concerning. Those are injuries that can linger. Also, those ankle sprains that uh Tyrell Shaver sustained, another injury that can linger as well. But a few more items here. Josh Allen has really been on point throughout training camp. I think sometimes you take it for granted with his greatness, but he has been intercepted a few times in recent days. It appears though during those circumstances, he’s really trying to either work on something with his receiver or test something out in terms of forcing a throw. Nothing he’s doing that isn’t intentional in any way. So, I think he’s trying to work out some of the kinks with his receiver, see what they’re capable of in terms of contested catches. So, nothing to be concerned about with those interceptions. I think his accuracy has been there. And then the layers, as I’ve been mentioning to the Bills passing game have been there. They’ve been going short, intermediate, and today they hooked up on the deep balls. And Allen has really been leading the way. His vision has been elite and he’s done a great job getting everybody involved using that everybody eats mentality that’s been instilled these past couple of years. So, never take him for granted. Uh, sometimes you just got to give Josh Allen a shout out. We all remember the days of passes going off the hospitality tent and uh stuff like that. So, the MVP gaining rapport with some of his new guys and maintaining that connection with Keon Coleman, Dalton Concaid and the like. Greg Rouso at Oliver. Great days today. Great start to camp. Oliver providing plenty of penetration. Greg Rouso knocking down balls in the back field. Uh Deion Walker and TJ Sanders have been running mates at time at times up front. So they’ve shown some impressive flashes as well. And then Jackson Haw has impressed me and he impressed Conor McGovern so much that and I’m going to write about this later for SI Bills when he was asked McGovern that is on one Bills live earlier today what player has impressed him most. He said without a doubt Jackson Haw’s blocking ability and he’s excited to see what his versatility at that jumbo tight end spot could possibly bring down the road for the Bills defense. But that’s going to do it here. Long injury list. You can check out my ex account, my Substack. Also subscribe, like, share, rate, all my stuff on Buffalo pregame, YouTube, wherever you get your podcast. Day off on Wednesday for the Bills. They return on Thursday at 9:45 at St. John Fischer. The return of the blue and red is this weekend. Everybody get excited for that. Thank you for joining me. We’ll see you next [Music]
Rookie cornerback Max Hairston sustained a frightening non-contact leg injury during Day 6 of Bills training camp, while safety Cole Bishop also left the field at one points. What’s their status? A check-in on Matt Milano and more.
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