Achilles tendon injury to Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White is feared to be season-ending
FILE - Buffalo Bills’ Tre’Davious White is shown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday Sept. 12, 2021. Buffalo Bills starting cornerback Tre’Davious White’s return from a left knee injury will have to wait at least one more week. Coach Sean McDermott on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022, ruled out White from playing against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night. (AP Photo Jeffrey T. Barnes, File)
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White was carted off the field with what’s feared to be a season-ending injury to his right Achilles tendon in the third quarter of Buffalo’s game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.
Coach Sean McDermott said White was still being evaluated following a 48-20 victory. McDermott then grew emotional when discussing a player who missed a calendar year after having surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right knee in December 2021.
“Sometimes you wonder, right, why thinks like that happen twice to someone — I’m not saying what it is, what it isn’t,” McDermott said. “You just wonder why, because you watched him and how hard he’s worked to get back. I know he’s a man of faith. And I know how strong he is. And he will, he will rebound.”
White was hurt in the final minute of the third quarter while covering receiver Tyreek Hill up the right sideline. White suddenly pulled up favoring his right leg and fell to the turf.
At one point, White attempted to stand up before falling back to the ground. He then pulled off his helmet and flung it down the field. Bills players eventually surrounded White as he was loaded into the cart with a towel over his head and his hand on his face in dejection.
“We were all there just trying to talk to him. And, you know, sometimes at that point there’s really nothing you can say,” safety Micah Hyde said. “It’s kind of one of those situations that words can’t really help Tre’Davious at that point. He understands we’re there for him. We love him.”
White is among the Bills’ more well-liked players because of his sense of humor and competitive nature, which was particularly evident in how he approached preparing for this season. After being limited to playing just six games last year, White privately discussed how driven he was to reclaim his place as one of the NFL’s top shutdown cornerbacks.
White holds a special place with McDermott. He was the first player the Bills drafted after the coach took over in 2017. He’s been a starter since his rookie season and was an All-Pro in 2019.
The injury provides Kaiir Elam an opportunity to reclaim the role he shared with Christian Benford while filling in for White to open last season. Benford opened this season starting opposite White, while Elam was a healthy inactive through the first four weeks of the season.