The Buffalo Bills head to a place they last entered in the 2017 postseason: Duval County. And that came before Josh Allen emerged as the franchise quarterback. But the defense will be without Maxwell Hairston against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The rookie cornerback exited in the Week 18 contest against the New York Jets with an ankle injury. He's considered week-to-week per Matt Parrino of syracuse.com.
The NFL injury disrupted what's become a solid first season for the CB.
Hairston arrived to Buffalo via Kentucky in the NFL Draft. The Bills grabbed him at No. 30 after watching him dominate in the Southeastern Conference.
He went on to grab interceptions against the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins — picking off All-Pros Patrick Mahomes and Tua Tagovailoa. Hairston also swatted five passes on the season while dealing with an earlier Bills injury.
Bills likely to turn to familiar face as Maxwell Hairston replacement
Head coach Sean McDermott has a veteran to turn toward here.
Tre'Davious White stepped into the defensive lineup after Hairston went down. White is no stranger to experience playoff runs with Buffalo.
The 30-year-old was a rookie during the Bills' last NFL Playoffs appearance down in Jacksonville. White has since been a part of the string of postseason runs out of Buffalo — including the AFC title game appearance of the 2020 season.
He returned to the franchise after suiting up for the Los Angeles Rams and Baltimore Ravens last season. Hairston still pushed him for the starting role, though.
Now McDermott will need to rely on the veteran to counter a red-hot Trevor Lawrence and the vastly improved Jaguars.
