This Has Bills Fans Very Concerned...

This has Bills fans very concerned, as Bills wide receiver Khalil Shakir misses practice once again with an undisclosed injury. And with Week 1's matchup against the Texans rapidly approaching, fans are starting to worry. So today we're going to talk about what we know about Khalil Shakir's injury, who could step up in the event he's not ready to go Week 1, plus we've got a few other updates of players that have returned to practice this week. So welcome in everybody to Bills Digest. I'm Ben Volker. We've got you covered with all things related to the Buffalo Bills here at Bills Digest. So if you don't want to miss a thing related to the Buffalo Bills, make sure to hit subscribe and let us know that you want more content just like this. And as I said at the top, Week 1's matchup against the Texans is rapidly approaching. It's going to be here before we know it, and it's a chance for the Bills to make a statement in Joe Brady's first ever game against the head coach and send a message to the league that this team is here and that this team is legit. And obviously people are monitoring and keeping a close eye on the Bills' injury report. So let's dive right in to how the injury report was looking on Wednesday. Here's the list of names of players that did not practice on Wednesday. You've got Ty Johnson, Khalil Shakir, Jude Bowery, Javon Solomon, Jordan Hancock, and Jalen Kilgore. And now the most glaring name on this list that people are starting to kind of freak out about a little bit is Khalil Shakir because Khalil Shakir has kind of made a permanent residence on this list in the past few weeks. He popped up out of nowhere after the Panthers' preseason game and just hasn't come off that list since then. So fans are starting to worry because Week 1's is almost here and Shakir still isn't practicing. So alarm bells are kind of going off, but the Bills are maintaining their position and saying that Shakir will be ready to go Week 1. He has an undisclosed injury. People are speculating that it's a hamstring injury, but we don't know for sure. But the optimism is that he will be available for Buffalo's opener against the Texans and that the Bills are just being cautious with him. And now this is a good time to mention that today's video is sponsored by Calshi. And now on Calshi, you're trading directly against other users, not the house, like traditional sports books. You're buying yes or no outcomes on the events of across sports, politics, even the weather, you name it. And here's why I mentioned Calshi right now because right now on Calshi, the Bills are in a tight race for who is going to be the highest scoring team this year. And when you're in a race with teams like the Rams and the Chicago Bears, every single piece matters. So if the Bills are optimistic that Shakir will be ready to go Week 1, that definitely bolsters their chances of being the highest scoring team this year. And if you like this, the odds of the Bills to be that highest scoring team, you can place $25 on Calshi right now. And if the Bills do end up as the highest scoring team in the league, you could win $131 on Calshi. And if you are interested in trying out Calshi, use the link in the description and trade $25 with code DigestNFL and get $25 added to your account instantly. Thank you once again to Calshi for sponsoring today's video. Now let's talk about what Shakir adds to this Bills offense. And now look, Shakir, he's been a fixture, as I just mentioned, of the Bills offense for a few years now. And he's kind of been their de facto number one receiver ever since Stefan Diggs left the team. And I think he is one of the more underrated players on the Bills roster considering he's really isn't a receiver one on pretty much any other team, but he's been forced to be that guy for the Bills. And despite that he has produced in his few seasons. You can take a look at his stats from last year and he had a pretty solid season with 72 receptions, 719 receiving yards, four touchdowns. Pretty good for a guy that shouldn't be a receiver one in this league. He's more of a complimentary guy, but the Bills have forced him to use him as a receiver one and he has been pretty good in that role in the past few years. So this is a guy that the Bills desperately still want on offense, especially in a revamped receiver room where you've got a true receiver one in DJ Moore. I do think that does open up the opportunities for Shakir a bit more. But if this injury is indeed more serious then the Bills are letting on. What does that mean for the Bills roster and how it looks week one in that receiver room? Well, I think the first guy that gets a big boost if Shakir is out is Skyler Bell. He had a very great preseason game against the Steelers in the final preseason game. We talked all about it a few weeks or a week ago and fans are hyped to see what Skyler Bell brings to the table. And if Shakir's not ready to go week one, that could be the opportunity that Bell needs to play in a starting role and prove why he should be a starting receiver for the Bills. The other guy that I think definitely receives a boost if Shakir is out is the guy that the Bills just signed to their practice squad in Greg Dorch. Now look, that's because Khalil Shakir is a guy that is in contention to be the punt returner for the Bills. Greg Dorch brings that punt return experience now. He's not on the active roster yet, but if Shakir is inactive week one, I could definitely see the Bills bringing up Dorch to their active roster for the Texans game and slotting him in to be that punt returner guy. I do think that is the perfect opportunity for Dorch. Now whether or not Shakir is ready to go week one remains to be seen, but let's get on to the guys that are back at practice this week. And there's a good amount of good high level names on this list of guys that we've been waiting to see back at practice. You've got Keon Coleman, Terrell Bernard, CJ Garner-Johnson, Ed Oliver, Connor McGovern, and Joe Andreessen. And there are some pretty big names on this list. You've got Terrell Bernard. His injury was pretty minor, so it's good to see him back at practice. Ed Oliver is back. Now he's got more going on than just an injury, so it is really good to see that he is back at practice and back with the team after all he's dealing with. I think that everybody, it's safe to say, is happy to see Ed Oliver back for reasons other than his injury. But even injury related, this is good that Ed Oliver is back. I think probably the biggest name on this list that is back is Connor McGovern just because he missed all of preseason with his injury that he sustained at the start of August at the Bills scrimmage. So to have Connor McGovern back is a massive boost for the Bills and will be great to have him back week one if he is indeed ready to go. Now another player that was on the injury list after the that people were concerned about, probably more so than Khalil Shakir, was Keon Coleman because this was after the practice, after the Panthers game, where Keon Coleman was spotted in a walking boot. Now a lot's been made about Keon Coleman. This is a make or break season for him, but it seems like he is back at practice. He was a full participant and he will be ready to go week one in this make or break season. So it remains to be seen what Keon brings to the table, but it is a sign that he is back at practice. Now the other guy that is good to see back is C.J. Garner-Johnson and now if you remember last season, C.J. Garner-Johnson was a member of the Texans for a short period of time. The Texans released him and Garner-Johnson did have some choice words to say about his former team when he was being interviewed today. He said, he said, uh, all the bull and the lies. I just can't wait to see him. They released me because I wasn't gelling with the team and didn't fit in well. So it seems like C.J. Garner-Johnson has a bit of a chip on his shoulder and that's probably what motivated him to get back to practice in time for week one because I think he really wants to play against the Texans and prove them wrong. And you know what? I hope he does prove them wrong. That's a lot of good news for the out of practice this week. So let me know which player you guys are most excited to see back at practice. Are you excited to see Keon Coleman, Terrell Bernard, C.J. Garner-Johnson, Ed Oliver, or Conor McGovern? I'm going to go with the guy that's on the screen right now in Conor McGovern. I do think that that is probably the biggest boost for the Bills to have back just because he's so underrated as a center in this league. He is that anchor on offense for the Bills, the O-line, and the entire offense as a whole. He's essential to protecting Josh Allen and he's just a great team guy for the Bills to have back. So that's my vote for today. I'm going with Conor McGovern. If you guys agree, leave a like, let me know, and if there's another player on this list that I didn't mention, let me know in the comments as well. But that will do it for today. It remains to be seen if Khalil Shakir is back at practice, but if he does come back to practice, we will let you know here on Bills Digest. We will have that information for you, so make sure to hit subscribe so you don't miss a thing. As always, thanks for watching, and of course, Go Bills!