The Buffalo Bills have been hit hard with injuries early in the season, particularly to the offense, and it keeps getting worse.  Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News reported this morning the team is concerned about the ankle of starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor; a report that quickly gained traction after the team cut kicker Billy Cundiff and signed quarterback Josh Johnson.

Now the news appears worse.  NFL insider Jason LaCanfora of CBS Sports is reporting Taylor suffered a MCL sprain against Tennessee last Sunday and may miss multiple games, forcing the Bills to prepare EJ Manuel as the starter against undefeated Cincinnati on Sunday.

Bills head coach Rex Ryan admitted while meeting with the media yesterday that Taylor's ankle has been an issue and he's been playing through the pain for a while.

"You know guys, he hasn’t been 100-percent all season, he’s had an ankle," Ryan said.  "So he’s been…even through training camp. We really haven’t seen the 100-percent Tyrod Taylor"

Johnson, 29, has been around the NFL for eight years but hasn’t thrown a regular season pass since 2011.  Johnson spent time working with current Bills offensive coordinator Greg Roman when they were in San Francisco and also played for this week’s opponent, Cincinnati.

Carucci also noted on Twitter this morning the Bills had interest in trying to sign Matt Simms off the Atlanta Falcons practice squad, but Simms refused, saying he felt he had a better future in Atlanta.  Simms was with the Bills this offseason but was one of their final cuts.

Of course, the Bills had a guy on the roster capable of backing up or even supplanting Manuel if he struggled in Matt Cassel, but Buffalo traded him to Dallas for a 2017 fifth-round draft pick.  At the time of the trade it left some scratching their heads, and it’s hard to dispute it being a move Doug Whaley would now like to have back.

To summarize, the Bills potentially could be without Tyrod Taylor, Lesean McCoy, Karlos Williams and Sammy Watkins when they attempt to end the Bengals unbeaten streak at five games.  That’s a lot of offensive weaponry on the shelf.

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