Bills DE Ed Oliver hurts knee, further delaying his return from IR

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills starting defensive tackle Ed Oliver had minor surgery for a knee injury this week, further delaying his return off injured reserve for playoff-bound Buffalo.

Coach Sean McDermott provided the update on Wednesday, by saying the injury happened while Oliver was rehabbing from a torn left bicep he sustained in late October. Oliver was originally projected to return before the end of the season.

McDermott did not have a timetable on Oliver’s recovery, by saying the knee injury adds a level of uncertainty. He, however, didn’t rule out the player returning should the Bills make a deep playoff run.

Buffalo (11-5) closes the regular season by hosting the New York Jets (3-13) on Sunday. The Bills are currently the AFC’s No. 7 seed, with an opportunity to climb as high as No. 5, meaning they’ll open the wild-card playoff round on the road.

McDermott said he has yet to determine whether to rest some of his starters on Sunday. And the players include quarterback Josh Allen, who was not scheduled to practice on Wednesday because of a sore right foot. Allen first hurt his foot in a 23-20 win at Cleveland two weeks ago, and then aggravated the injury in a 13-12 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday.

Other players not scheduled to practice on Wednesday were edge rusher Joey Bosa, safety Jordan Poyer (hamstring), defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (calf) and linebacker Terrel Bernard, who has already been ruled out after hurting his calf on Sunday.

Kicker Matt Prater was schedule to practice fully after missing the past two games with a quadricep injury.

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