BILLS CB TRE’DAVIOUS WHITE SUFFERS TORN ACHILLES AND IS OUT FOR THE SEASON
Buffalo Bills two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Tre’Davious White suffered a torn Achilles tendon during Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins, as first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Darlington.
White went down in the third quarter with a non-contact injury and immediately showed open frustration at getting hurt for the second time in three years. Surrounded by medical staff, White took off his helmet and slammed it over his head in frustration before starting to pound the ground with his fists. The Bills’ 2017 first-round pick was carted off the field momentarily after failing to put any weight on his right leg, and is set to underwent an MRI on Monday to confirm the injury.
The Louisiana-born defensive back previously suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament injury in his left knee during Thanksgiving against the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 26th, 2021 and battled back to play the Bills’ last eight games of the year, including the postseason.
A torn Achilles puts an end to the former LSU Tiger’s season and sets him on another long road to recovery after his tragic ordeal in New Orleans two years ago.
“It breaks my heart, it really does,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said following the win. “Not sure the extent of it but you never want to see your teammates on the floor pounding their fists. It just sucks. He’s worked his a— off to get back to playing the way we know Tre can play football and it truly breaks my heart.”
White, who was Sean McDermott’s first draft pick after taking over as the head coach of the Buffalo Bills in 2017, means a lot to the team and has been a long-standing staple of the Bills’ defense. Now 28 years old, White only missed one game across his first three seasons in Buffalo and missed just three total games over two years in 2019 and 2020.
Speaking on White’s injury, McDermott told the press, “They’re obviously still evaluating. I mean, he’s been through a lot. Sometimes you wonder, right, why things like that happen twice to someone… because you watch him how hard he’s worked to get back. I know he’s a man of faith and I know how strong he is and he will rebound.”
“He personifies what it is to be a Buffalo Bill, his family is tremendous and he works as hard as anybody I’ve ever been around. I love him. To see him on that field the way he was hurting is hard, it’s hard to watch. I’m so proud of the team the way they rallied around him and I know, like I said earlier, I know that he will rebound. He’s just, he’s too tough.”
Bills center Mitch Morse also took time to speak about White’s injury and openly expressed his remorse and sadness saying that, “I don’t know if I’m the most qualified person to speak on this – [Steffon] Diggs might chime in more here – but, you know, a guy who is not only a consummate professional but is [also] universally loved on this team, went down today.”
“He [White] is a guy that doesn’t want the limelight. He would do conditioning before training camp practices, which I’ve never seen in my life. He does it for all the right reasons and to see that today, I know it’s the parody of this league. You saw it earlier with [OT] Tommy Doyle and I know a lot of people have spoken on it but it’s a damn shame and hopefully you guys keep him in your prayers because he means so much to this team.”
With White out for an extended period of time, the Bills’ secondary, which was already short starting safety Jordan Poyer on Sunday and 2022 first-round corner Kaiir Elam, will have to rely more on the less experienced Dane Jackson and Cameron Lewis to step up as the team prepares for Week 5. The Bills will also have to sort out the situation they have with Kaiir Elam, who was a healthy scratch on Sunday, and can still rely on six-year veteran Siran Neal.
The Bills next take on the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday Oct. 8th at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, kicking off at 9:30am ET.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.