The Buffalo Bills will be facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week, and they will be without two of their key players, one on offense and the other on defense, according to Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic.
“Bills HC Sean McDermott said on WGR-AM that TE Dalton Kincaid and DT Phidarian Mathis are OUT vs. the Buccaneers. WR Khalil Shakir is ‘heading in the right direction and should be in a good spot for the game.' That's a bit of a surprise,” Buscaglia wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Kincaid has been dealing with a hamstring injury that he suffered against the Miami Dolphins last week. He's been one of the main contributors to the Bills' offense and is a favorite target of Josh Allen. Kincaid is currently No. 2 on the team with 448 yards and leads the team with four touchdowns.
The offense has been up and down this season, but Allen has made things work with what he has. The Bills recently signed Mecole Hardman, and the hope is that he can make an impact on the team whenever he gets on the field. Shakir seems to be making progress, and having him against the Buccaneers will be big as well.
As far as the defense, Mathis has been dealing with a shoulder injury, and that's another blow to the Bills' defense, which was short on depth last week on the defensive line. It was a big reason why the Dolphins were able to get whatever they wanted, especially in the run game.
The hope is that Kincaid and Mathis are not gone for an extended period of time, and getting them back sooner rather than later will be key for the team. The Buccaneers will be a tough battle, but they also have a few injuries that they've had to deal with throughout the season.
