The Buffalo Bills are in the full swing of things at training camp in Rochester, New York. The pads are finally on, and the team is hitting. For fans, this is great news as it means the season is inching closer day by day. For the players, it’s good too because they can shake the off-season rust off. But just like in the middle of the season, training camp means injury scares. The Buffalo Bills had a major one on Tuesday when All-Pro safety, Jordan Poyer, left the field holding his arm.
What Happened
The 2021 first-team All-Pro Safety, Jordan Poyer, left all Buffalo Bills fans with serious worry Tuesday morning. Poyer and the Bills were running plays in 11-on-11 team drills near the goal-line. After one of the plays, Poyer grabbed his arm and jogged off the field. He was surrounded by a couple of trainers immediately and then sat on the ground. Not too long after that, showing signs of being in pain, Poyer took off his jersey and shoulder pads. He would then walk to the entrance tunnel where he sat in a chair holding his arm in discomfort. A golf cart would be brought around and take Poyer to the locker room. Later, it was confirmed that he had some type of elbow injury.
The Diagnosis
From the moment Poyer went down, Bills Mafia had been holding their breath. They got to relax a little bit later on when Adam Schefter took to Twitter. Schefter reported “Bills’ All-Pro safety Jordan Poyer hyper-extended his elbow today and will miss what one source described as ‘a few weeks.’ Poyer is expected to be back for the start of the regular season.” The medical definition for a hyper-extended elbow is, “when your elbow joint bends back more than it should.” The symptoms include a popping noise at the moment of hyper-extension, instant pain in the elbow, dull to sharp pain when you move or touch the affected elbow, and swelling, stiffness and loss of strength in the elbow. The expected recovery time lines right up with what Schefter said; three to four weeks. Even if it takes Poyer four weeks to recover, he would be back in plenty of time for the season opener.
Poyer’s Importance to the Buffalo Bills
Poyer is an incredibly important player to the Bills and one of the backbones of the defense. JPO joined the team five years ago and has since become one of the best safeties in the league. In those five years, he’s played in 79 games, recorded 18 interceptions, 36 passes defended, six forced fumbles, 10 sacks, 519 tackles, and 29 tackles for loss. Last season Poyer tied a career high with five interceptions, a new career high with three sacks, along with 93 tackles, eight tackles for loss and nine passes defended.
Poyer is one-half of what many call the best safety duo in the league. Micah Hyde makes up the other half of it. The duo is vital to the team’s success and Hyde gave fans a scare a few days ago when he left the field but has since returned. The Bills are optimistic about a Super Bowl championship this year, and both Poyer and Hyde are essential to that run. The coaching staff has to be extremely thankful right now they dodged a serious bullet. If it were up to Bills’ Mafia, all players would be wearing bubble wrap the rest of preseason.
