Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier headlines the 2023 Black College Football Hall of Fame class.

The Black College Football Hall of Fame announced Frazier, Henry Lawrence, Albert Lewis, Jim Marsalis, Tyrone McGriff, Elijah Pitts, Johnie Walton and Pete Richardson were selected for induction among a group of 25 finalists.

🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨

Introducing the Black College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023! 🏈

LESLIE FRAZIER
HENRY “KILLER” LAWRENCE
ALBERT LEWIS
JIM MARSALIS
TYRONE MCGRIFF
ELIJAH PITTS
JOHNNIE WALTON
COACH PETE RICHARDSON

View full release: https://t.co/B2wnuuekAu pic.twitter.com/l0X5uSuGwy

— BlackCollegeFootball (@BCFHOF) December 8, 2022

Notable finalists who didn't make the cut this year include Antoine Bethea, Verlon Biggs, Joe Adams and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

The class is determined from a vote by the 11-person selection committee, which is made up of journalists, historians, commentators and members of the Black College Football Hall of Fame.

"This Class is another representation of the immense football talent that has played at historically black colleges and universities," Black College Football Hall of Fame co-founder Doug Williams said of the 2023 class. "Several of these players were college All-Americans, high NFL draft picks and Pro Bowlers."

Frazier had a five-year playing career in the NFL with the Chicago Bears from 1981 to 1985. He won a Super Bowl in his final season as a player and as an assistant coach on Tony Dungy's staff with the Indianapolis Colts in the 2006 season.

Prior to entering the NFL, Frazier played college football at Alcorn State from 1978 to 1980. He recorded 20 interceptions and was named to the All-SWAC Defensive first team in 1979.

Lawrence was a standout player at Florida A&M before becoming a first-round draft pick by the Oakland Raiders in 1974. He was a two-time Pro Bowler and three-time Super Bowl champion during his 13-year NFL career.

Lewis played cornerback at Grambling State from 1979 to 1982. He had a successful 16-year NFL career that included stints with the Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2007.

Marsalis went to college at Tennessee A&I (now known as Tennessee State). The Chiefs selected him No. 23 overall in the 1969 NFL draft. He was named to the Pro Bowl and won a Super Bowl as a rookie.

McGriff was a three-time All-American offensive lineman at Florida A&M from 1977 to 1979. He also began his coaching career at his alma mater as an assistant in 1986 after his playing career came to an end.

McGriff died at the age of 42 due to a heart attack in December 2000.

Pitts played football at Philander Smith in Little Rock, Arkansas. He won five NFL championships and two Super Bowls as a player with the Green Bay Packers.

Walton played quarterback and served as head coach at Elizabeth City State College. He was named to the All-CIAA team as a player in 1968. The North Carolina native went 25-24-2 in two stints as head coach for the Vikings.

Richardson spent 22 seasons as a head coach from 1988 to 2009. He began his college coaching career at Winston-Salem State, going 41-14-1 with three playoff appearances.

After leaving Winston-Salem State to take the same position at Southern University, Richardson won 128 games in 17 years. He led the Jaguars to the Heritage Bowl six times, with four victories.

The 2023 Black College Football Hall of Fame class will be inducted at a ceremony at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta on June 10.

Former Buffalo Bills and San Diego State punter Matt Araiza will not face criminal charges after a then-17-year-old girl said he and his former teammates Zavier Leonard and Nowlin “Pa’a” Ewaliko raped her in 2021, per Lyndsay Winkley and Teri Figueroa of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

"Ultimately, prosecutors determined it is clear the evidence does not support the filing of criminal charges and there is no path to a potential criminal conviction," the San Diego District Attorney's Office said in a statement. "Prosecutors can only file charges when they ethically believe they can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt."

Leonard and Ewaliko also won't face criminal charges.

The woman, now 18, said that Araiza, then 21, originally had sex with her in the yard of a house just off the San Diego State campus on Oct. 17, 2021. She said he then brought her inside the house, where she was raped by Araiza, Leonard and Ewaliko.

Per Winkley and Figueroa's report, "The teen said that she was in and out of consciousness and her ear, belly and nose piercings were ripped out as men assaulted her for about 90 minutes. She said she stumbled out of the room bloodied and bruised and immediately told her friends she'd been raped."

She reported the rape to San Diego police the next day, and authorities investigated the case for nine months before turning over their findings to prosecutors, though they did not recommend charges be filed.

Araiza, a sixth-round pick of the Bills in 2022, was released by the team in late August after the woman sued him, Leonard and Ewaliko, accusing them of rape in her civil filing.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and ForgiveCo partnered to forgive $10 million of consumer debt, the parties announced Wednesday.

“Coming from a small town and now living out my dream playing football, I recognize that I owe a debt of gratitude to the fans for their support not only each Sunday but also their continued support of my off-field endeavors,” Allen said in a statement. “I was honored when ForgiveCo approached me with a chance to uplift thousands of hard-working Americans in the communities that support me by alleviating the burden of debt from their lives.”

The debt forgiveness will reach farmers in California’s Central Valley, where Allen grew up, along with people in need in Wyoming, where he attended college, Buffalo and 200 zipcodes where Buffalo fans are "are shown to be concentrated in fan chapters" throughout the U.S.

ForgiveCo, a public benefit corporation, partners with brands to forgive debt as a way of easing the financial burden of individuals.

An average of $3,847 will be relieved from about 2,600 people identified.

After being placed on injured reserve last week with a knee injury, Buffalo Bills superstar pass-rusher Von Miller on Wednesday was ruled out for the remainder of the 2022 season.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Miller underwent exploratory surgery Tuesday that resulted in the repairing of his ACL.

Miller had said he didn't tear his ACL but suffered a lateral meniscus injury, and he was hopeful he would return.

Per Rapoport, imaging tests "did not adequately show" that Miller had torn his ACL. The plan was to reposition Miller's lateral meniscus surgically and clean up cartilage damage, but it was discovered during the procedure that Miller had torn his ACL.

Miller suffered the injury during the Bills' Thanksgiving Day win over the Detroit Lions, and he was placed on IR, which ensured he would miss the next four games.

While he would have been eligible to return for Buffalo's Week 17 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Bills will now be without arguably their top defensive player for the remainder of the campaign.

After lacking an elite pass-rusher in recent years, the Bills signed Miller to a six-year, $120 million contract during the offseason in hopes that he was the missing piece to their Super Bowl puzzle.

The 33-year-old veteran is a surefire future Hall of Famer with 123.5 career sacks as well as eight Pro Bowl nods, three first-team All-Pro selections, two Super Bowl championships and the Super Bowl 50 MVP award.

Last season, the Los Angeles Rams acquired Miller in a trade with the Denver Broncos, and he recorded five sacks in eight regular-season games as well as four sacks in four playoff games during their run to the Super Bowl LVI title.

Miller was great in his first season with the Bills, registering a team-high eight sacks in 11 games. He had two sacks in a Week 6 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

In his absence, the Bills will have to lean on their less-accomplished pass-rushers, including defensive ends Greg Rousseau, A.J. Epenesa, Boogie Basham and Shaq Lawson plus defensive tackles Ed Oliver, Jordan Phillips and DaQuan Jones.

Buffalo still boasts a talented defense anchored by cornerback Tre'Davious White, safety Jordan Poyer and linebackers Matt Milano and Tremaine Edmunds as well as one of the top offenses in the league, led by quarterback Josh Allen.

The Bills are the top seed in the AFC at 9-3, but the road to the Super Bowl will be more difficult without Miller.

The NFC South was under the spotlight during Monday Night Football, which wasn't exactly ideal for NFL fans.

After all, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers entered play with a 5-6 record and would remain in first place with a win or a loss against the Saints. Tampa Bay ended up winning 17-16 in dramatic fashion with two Tom Brady touchdown passes in the last three minutes, but that mere fact underscores just how poorly the entire division has played this year.

By comparison, every team in the NFC East is above .500 and in position to challenge for the playoffs.

Here is a look at the standings and tiebreaker scenarios following the Buccaneers' win:

---

NFC

1. Philadelphia Eagles, 11-1

2. Minnesota Vikings, 10-2

3. San Francisco 49ers, 8-4

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 6-6

5. Dallas Cowboys, 9-3

6. New York Giants, 7-4-1

7. Seattle Seahawks, 7-5

8. Washington Commanders, 7-5-1

9. Detroit Lions, 5-7

10. Atlanta Falcons, 5-8 (wins tiebreaker over GB because of strength of victory)

11. Green Bay Packers, 5-8

12. Arizona Cardinals, 4-8 (wins tiebreaker over CAR because of head-to-head victory)

13. Carolina Panthers, 4-8

14. New Orleans Saints, 4-9

15. Los Angeles Rams, 3-9

16. Chicago Bears, 3-10 (eliminated)

---

AFC

1. Buffalo Bills, 9-3 (wins tiebreaker over KC because of head-to-head victory)

2. Kansas City Chiefs, 9-3

3. Baltimore Ravens, 8-4 (wins tiebreaker over CIN because of head-to-head victory)

4. Tennessee Titans, 7-5

5. Cincinnati Bengals, 8-4 (wins tiebreaker over MIA because of head-to-head victory)

6. Miami Dolphins, 8-4

7. New York Jets, 7-5

8. New England Patriots, 6-6 (wins tiebreaker over LAC because of win percentage against AFC)

9. Los Angeles Chargers, 6-6

10. Las Vegas Raiders, 5-7 (wins tiebreaker over CLE because of win percentage against AFC)

11. Cleveland Browns, 5-7 (wins tiebreaker over PIT because of head-to-head victory)

12. Pittsburgh Steelers, 5-7

13. Indianapolis Colts, 4-8-1

14. Jacksonville Jaguars, 4-8

15. Denver Broncos, 3-9

16. Houston Texans, 1-10-1 (eliminated)

---

There are a handful of matchups to watch in Week 14, starting with the AFC East showdown between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets.

While Buffalo is in first place in the division and conference following three straight wins, the Jets got the better of Josh Allen and Co. during their Week 9 matchup in New York and are hanging on to a playoff spot heading into the rematch.

Things may go differently this time, as it is in Buffalo, and the Bills are playing with plenty of momentum. Mike White figures to be the quarterback for the Jets as well instead of the since-benched Zach Wilson.

Elsewhere in the AFC East, the Miami Dolphins will travel to face the Los Angeles Chargers in a game with plenty of playoff implications.

Miami is still within striking distance of a Buffalo team it already defeated once and plays again in Week 15, but it is also just two games ahead of the Chargers in the race for a wild-card spot. A loss to the Chargers would mean the Dolphins would hit the road to face the Bills with two consecutive defeats and suddenly in danger of falling out of playoff position.

They finish with division matchups against the New England Patriots and Jets, so any cushion they can build will help before the stretch run.

This is also a showdown between Tua Tagovailoa, who was the No. 5 overall pick of the 2020 NFL draft, and Justin Herbert, who was the No. 6 overall pick of that draft. Herbert is an established star, but Tagovailoa is playing the best football of his career and could make some noise in the playoffs with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.

His former teammate at Alabama, Jalen Hurts, will also be in a featured game in Week 14 when the Philadelphia Eagles hit the road to face the New York Giants.

Philadelphia has the inside track on the No. 1 seed and the first-round bye in the NFC, while the Giants are trending in the wrong direction with a 1-3-1 record in the last five games. With the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders right behind them in the standings, they cannot afford to drop many more if they are going to get a wild-card spot.

Unfortunately for Daniel Jones and Co., that is much easier said than done against the dominant Eagles.

There is "considerable doubt" about the health of Odell Beckham Jr. as he prepares to make his NFL return.

Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports reported there is some concern about whether Beckham will be a major factor this season given it's already December and he's yet to take a snap since tearing his ACL in Super Bowl LVI.

The injury was Beckham's second ACL tear in the same knee in as many seasons. Given the fact he is just now nearing 10 months since the injury, it would be a surprise if Beckham were anything close to resembling his former All-Pro self.

Under the most optimistic of circumstances, Beckham will have a chance to play just five regular-season games before the playoffs begin. That would require him to sign early next week and then be on the field just says later—a highly unlikely scenario. It's possible Beckham does not wind up playing more than one or two regular-season games, which further complicates contract talks with teams.

Vacchiano's report indicated Beckham has been seeking $20 million per year. That's not happening. There is no circumstance in which Beckham signs a deal at anything resembling that number; he would arguably be lucky to get half of that figure.

Beckham has not made a Pro Bowl since the 2016 season and has just two 1,000-yard seasons in the last five years. Even before the injury issues, there were legitimate questions about whether Beckham was the same type of dynamic star who burst on to the scene with Hall of Fame-caliber numbers.

While there has been no shortage of interest in Beckham since he was cleared for a return, teams are going to be understandably cautious in negotiations. A one-year deal doesn't do much for teams given the uncertainty of Beckham's health, so expect a two-year deal under team-friendly terms that allows the 30-year-old to truly show out in 2023.

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll gave a positive update on the team's meeting with free-agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. this week.

Daboll told reporters the organization had a "good visit" with Beckham on Thursday night and that the wideout would meet with other people at the team facilities Friday.

Per ESPN, Beckham is also scheduled to meet with the Buffalo Bills on Friday and the Dallas Cowboys on Monday.

OBJ has remained unsigned since the offseason during his recovery from a torn ACL suffered during the Los Angeles Rams' Super Bowl win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported this week that someone close to Beckham said he had been fully cleared from his injury, meaning he could be in line to play shortly after signing with a team.

Signing with the Giants would represent the biggest possible feel-good story for OBJ since he began his NFL career with the G-Men.

New York selected Beckham with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft out of LSU, and he instantly established himself as one of the league's top pass-catchers.

Beckham finished with at least 90 receptions, 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns in each of his first three NFL seasons, and he made the Pro Bowl each of those years.

Injuries slowed Beckham down in the years that followed, though, and the Giants traded him to the Cleveland Browns prior to the 2019 season.

When Beckham's tenure in Cleveland went south after less than two full seasons, he was waived and signed with the Rams, with whom he made a major impact.

Along with now-Bills pass-rusher Von Miller, Beckham was a huge acquisition ahead of their Super Bowl run last season, as he recorded 27 receptions for 305 yards and five touchdowns in eight regular-season games for L.A.

He was even better in the playoffs, racking up 21 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns in four games, including the opening touchdown of the Super Bowl.

Little was expected of the Giants in 2022, but with Daboll taking over as head coach, they have turned the corner more quickly than anyone could have guessed.

On the heels of five consecutive losing seasons, the Giants are 7-4 and would be a playoff team if the season ended today.

Much of that can be owed to a solid defense and one of the NFL's top running games behind running back Saquon Barkley. Quarterback Daniel Jones and the passing game have left something to be desired, but a lack of weapons has undoubtedly played a role.

Wideouts Sterling Shepard and Wan'Dale Robinson are both injured, Kadarius Toney was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs and Kenny Golladay has continued to be a nonfactor.

The Giants have had to lean on the likes of Darius Slayton, Richie James, David Sills and Isaiah Hodgins, leaving Jones without a go-to guy.

Beckham would be precisely that. If he chooses the Giants, getting to be the No. 1 receiver may be part of the reason why, as he would play second fiddle to CeeDee Lamb in Dallas and Stefon Diggs in Buffalo.

The Buffalo Bills placed veteran pass-rusher Von Miller on injured reserve Thursday, per Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, as he recovers from lateral meniscus damage in his knee.

Jones will miss a minimum of four games with the injury designation.

"We’ve been assessing Von this week and seeing how he is," general manager Brandon Beane told reporters Thursday. "We don't want to rush him back. This gives us a chance to go ahead and count tonight’s game and three more on injured reserve. And hopefully we can get him back for the stretch run."

Miller had said Tuesday during his The VonCast podcast that he was hoping to only be shelved for a short time.

"I do have some lateral meniscus damage, and it's going to have to be addressed," he noted. "But I do feel like I can, you know, play through that, so I'm just gonna wait a little bit, and let the swelling go down for about seven to 10 days and, hopefully, right before the Jets game I will be back."

The Bills decided to play it safer than that, however.

Miller, 33, has been a key player for the Bills this season. Per ESPN's Alaina Getzenberg, "Miller leads the Bills in sacks (eight), pass-rush win rate (23.7 percent) and pressure percentage (14.6 percent)."

He's also third in the NFL in pressures (38), trailing only the Dallas Cowboys' Micah Parsons (46) and the New England Patriots' Matthew Judon (39).

The Bills will miss him for a key stretch that sees them face the New England Patriots (6-5) on Thursday night, followed by the New York Jets (7-4), Miami Dolphins (8-3) and Chicago Bears (3-9). The earliest he could return is a Week 17 matchup with the 7-4 Cincinnati Bengals.

That stretch very likely will determine the AFC East winner and Buffalo's potential playoff seed in the process. The 8-3 Bills are second in the division after losing to Miami earlier in the season, setting up a crucial rematch in three weeks.

Thanksgiving week can be a stressful time under even the most normal of circumstances without being forced to travel hundreds of miles to avoid a major snowstorm to perform your job twice as much as usual in a five-day span.

That is exactly what Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills faced in Weeks 11 and 12 of the season when their game against the Cleveland Browns—which took place just four days before a Thanksgiving matchup against the Lions—was moved to Detroit because of weather concerns.

"Just find a way," Allen told Bleacher Report when asked what the team's mindset was that week. "It was a roller coaster of emotions with lots of ups and downs. Getting snowed in, but then having the fans dig us out of our driveways and dig our cars out and help us out with plowing. And then having two games in five days at the same spot that isn't home.

"So it was big for us to kind of battle that and be resilient and come together and get two wins out of that. We could have easily let that be a distraction or excuse, but the leadership that we have in our locker room and how much we care about each other helped make sure that didn't happen."

Bills mafia helped send their team off by shoveling snow around Buffalo 👏 pic.twitter.com/nDdXshkwrU

— NFL (@NFL) November 19, 2022

That leadership helped the Bills go 2-0 during a stretch that was going to be important regardless of where the games were played.

Buffalo entered the Cleveland matchup on a two-game losing streak and emerged from the contest against the Lions on a two-game winning streak thanks in large part to a back-and-forth victory on Thanksgiving.

Detroit took the lead in the fourth quarter with a D.J. Chark touchdown, but Allen found Stefon Diggs for a score to retake the lead before Detroit tied it with a field goal with 23 seconds left. As if there was ever a doubt, though, Allen directed the offense into field-goal range in the final seconds, and Tyler Bass won it with a 45-yarder.

"I have the best quarterback in the league."

Stefon Diggs, Tyler Bass and Josh Allen celebrate a nail-biting Thanksgiving W with @tracywolfson, and turkey legs of course 🍗 pic.twitter.com/p23AhaeYEl

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 24, 2022

As if the drama of the entire week wasn't enough, Allen has been playing with an elbow injury that hasn't forced him to miss a game but did leave him questionable ahead of the Week 10 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.

"The elbow's feeling great," he said in an update that is welcome news for Bills fans. "We're working through it, and I've been able to play the last few games. I really haven't felt it at all. Each day brings more progress as well, so I'm just trying to find a way to truck on."

That means he will take the field Thursday against Mac Jones and the New England Patriots.

While they will be playing against each other, Allen and Jones partnered with Gillette for the NFL's annual My Cause My Cleats initiative. The quarterbacks worked with visual artist Joshua Vides to create their designs with the proceeds for Jones' going to the Boys & Girls Club in Jordan, Massachusetts, and the proceeds for Allen's going to the Oishei Children's Hospital in Buffalo through the Patricia Allen Fund.

The Patricia Allen Fund started when Allen's grandmother died and fans started donating to the Oishei Children's Hospital in $17 increments to match his jersey number.

The cleats will be auctioned at NFL.com/auction, and Gillette will match the proceeds.

"We've got a really cool design this year," Allen said. "...My cleats are going to have the OCH blocks that you can find in front of the hospital, the Team 17 logo on the back, the Patricia Allen Fund—which is something near and dear to my heart—on the sides. There's going to be an EKG, there's a heart on each cleat. And then on the inside, we've got six signatures from kids at Oishei Children's Hospital."

As for Jones, his cleats will feature the Boys & Girls Clubs of America logo and a flower or heart on the toe of each one, which was requested by the members of the club when he visited them.

The choice was clear for Allen when deciding he would represent Oishei Children's Hospital for the My Cause My Cleats initiative.

"As a rookie I did a few visits to see some kids," he said. "And I remember as a kid, my brother was in a children's hospital for a week. I just remember as a young kid the angst that I had with the uncertainty of what was going on. And when I did these visits, I just realized how easily I could make an impact on someone and just brighten their day by showing up and being there to show them that people care."

He will be wearing those cleats in a critical Week 13 game against the Patriots where he will have the opportunity to earn a division win and improve his MVP chances.

The University of Wyoming product has completed 63.9 percent of his passes for 3,183 yards, 23 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and appears well on his way to a third straight season with more than 4,000 passing yards. He also has 561 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

Allen and Diggs are arguably the top one-two combination in the league, and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick had nothing but positive things to say about the quarterback ahead of the matchup.

"Allen's the leading rusher, so that tells you all you need to know about what you have to defend every time he touches the ball, it could be any number of things and does them all well," he told reporters. "Great player, certainly an MVP candidate. He does a lot for their team in a lot of ways."

While the ultimate goal is to take the next step after heartbreaking playoff losses to the Kansas City Chiefs the last two seasons and reach the Super Bowl, Allen could claim the award with a strong finish as he battles with Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa and others.

But even Belichick's suggestion that he is in the running didn't take away from his primary focus.

"It's such a great compliment coming from someone that's got such a historical resume and is one of, if not the, greatest coaches to ever grace this game," Allen said. "So it means a lot coming from him. But at the same time, all I'm trying to do is find a way to win the game. And he's going to have a good gameplan, they always do. So we have to find a way to adjust in-game and find a way to win."

Most games with 300 Pass Yards, 3 Pass TD, 0 INT vs Bill Belichick
(incl. postseason)

Josh Allen 3
10 players tied 1 pic.twitter.com/N1UfZ3wdTS

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 29, 2022

Finding a way to win is all the more important in such a competitive AFC East race.

The AFC West got much of the love before the season with Mahomes, Justin Herbert, Russell Wilson and Derek Carr as the quarterbacks, but only the Chiefs are better than one game over .500.

Instead, it is the AFC East that has taken the spot as the best division in the conference with all four teams above .500 and the Bills and Miami Dolphins sitting at 8-3. Miami is yet to lose a game with a healthy Tua Tagovailoa and even defeated Buffalo in Week 3.

Fortunately for the Bills, everything is still in front of them with four of their final six games against divisional foes.

"It's going to take us playing our best ball and finding ways to be smart, score touchdowns and play complementary football," Allen said when asked what the team needs to do to emerge as division champs. "I think the most important thing is taking it one game at a time and trying to go 1-0 each week. Division games are hard, but our most important game is always the next one. And that's Thursday night."

His cleats will have quite the spotlight as the Bills look to build momentum heading into the stretch run.

Buffalo Bills pass-rusher Von Miller has been ruled out for the remainder of Buffalo's road game against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving after leaving in the second quarter.

The initial diagnosis for #Bills star Von Miller is a knee sprain, source said. That would be a good outcome. No one has ruled out a more serious injury, but some hope. He has an MRI and other tests tomorrow to confirm.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 24, 2022

CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson (h/t Albert Breer of The MMQB) reported that Miller would miss the rest of the game with a knee injury. Chris Brown of the Bills' official website noted Miller was carted off the field.

Von Miller had to be carted off after suffering an apparent leg injury

Prayers up 🙏

(via @CBSSports)pic.twitter.com/C8wfbjAMGz

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 24, 2022

Miller signed a six-year, $120 million deal with the Bills in March after helping the Los Angeles Rams win the Super Bowl last season. The Rams acquired him midseason from the Denver Broncos.

The 33-year-old had an impressive 2021 campaign with the Rams, recording five sacks, one forced fumble, 31 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and eight quarterback hits in eight games. Between the Rams and Broncos, he finished the season with 9.5 sacks, one forced fumble, 50 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and 17 quarterback hits in 15 games.

Miller has continued that success in Buffalo, recording a team-high eight sacks entering Thursday, along with two pass breakups, 20 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss and 11 quarterback hits in 10 games. He has anchored a defense that has been depleted by injuries.

Losing Miller for any period of time wouldn't be great for the Bills, who entered play Thursday with a 7-3 record.

Buffalo was also without its second- and third-leading sack artists (Greg Rousseau and A.J. Epenesa, respectively) thanks to injury, meaning Boogie Basham and Shaq Lawson will be tasked with picking up the slack off the edge, as well as Ed Oliver and Jordan Phillips up the middle.