With NFL cutdown day also comes injury designations for a small collection of players on each team around the league. The Buffalo Bills placed rookie Zane Durant on IR designated to return, Phidarian Mathis on the suspension list, Dorian Strong on the Non-Football Injury list, and Tyrell Shavers on the Physically Unable to Perform list.
Which players on the rosters of Buffalo’s first four opponents — IR has the shortest return timeline at four weeks — found themselves on these lists to begin the season?
Check below.
Week 1 – Houston Texans
WR Tank Dell
WR Jayden Higgins
EDGE Dylan Horton
Dell is still working back from a devastating knee injury he suffered late in the 2024 campaign. Higgins tore his ACL in a joint practice just a few weeks ago. The latter was an early second-round pick in 2025 and had 41 catches for 525 yards with six touchdowns during the regular season as a rookie, including four grabs for 38 yards and a score against the Bills.
Horton tore his Achilles this summer after he generated 16 pressures on 146 pass-rush snaps in 2025 in his third season with the Texans.
Week 2 – Detroit Lions
S Brian Branch
S Kerby Joseph
OC Cade Mays
Branch and Joseph, when healthy, are in the running for the best safety tandem in the NFL. Branch tore his Achilles in Week 14 last season, and is still recovering. Joseph was signed to a monster extension before the 2025 season, played through a knee injury, and reaggravated the injury late last season. He was placed on IR on December 20. Both Brian and Joseph will start the season on the PUP list for Detroit.
Mays has over 1,700 snaps on his NFL resume to date — all of which came in Carolina — and he inked a three-year, $25 million deal this offseason to be the Lions starting center but broke a bone in his wrist this summer and will miss a large chunk of the upcoming season.
Week 3 – Los Angeles Chargers
OC Tyler Biadasz
Biadasz worked his way into the starting lineup in Dallas across four seasons before spending the past two with Dan Quinn in Washington as the full-time center. The Chargers signed him to a three-year, $30M deal in March but he tore his ACL this summer.
Week 4 – New England Patriots
EDGE Harold Landry
The veteran edge rusher was placed on PUP to begin the Patriots season, meaning he’ll miss the Week 4 showdown with the Bills. The former second-round pick has strong ties to Mike Vrabel from their time together in Tennessee. In 2025 with the Patriots, Landry registered 52 pressures on 435 pass-rush snaps — including playoffs — including a whopping seven on 36 opportunities in New England’s win over the Bills in Orchard Park.
