BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Defensive starters DaQuan Jones and Micah Hyde are expected to return to action Sunday when the Bills host the Patriots.
Jones will be activated from injured reserve 11 weeks after undergoing surgery on his torn pectoral muscle, coach Sean McDermott said on Friday, and Hyde will be back on the field after missing two games with a neck stinger.
The Bills created room on the roster for Jones by releasing offensive tackle Germain Ifedi on Thursday. Signed in late August, the eighth-year veteran did not suit up for the Bills in any games this season.
Jones, who resumed practicing with the Bills last week, started the first five games at defensive tackle, compiling 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks before getting hurt in the Bills’ loss against the Jaguars in London.
That was the same game the Bills lost All-Pro linebacker Matt Milano to leg and knee injuries. McDermott reiterated on Friday that the Bills don’t expect Milano to return this season.
“I believe that’s a no-go,” McDermott said. “I have not heard otherwise, so I’m gonna stay with what I understand to be the case.”
Even with Milano and top cornerback Tre’Davious White out for the season, and reserve defensive tackle Jordan Phillips recently going on IR, the Bills will have more healthy bodies on defense against the Patriots than at any point since the first five weeks of the season.
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.