Bills WR Sammy Watkins discusses his availability with lingering foot injury
The Buffalo Bills have a lot of issues right now. Their offensive coordinator, Greg Roman, has been fired after two weeks, Rex Ryan is seemingly on the hot seat, and Sammy Watkins has a lingering foot injury that’s not going to subside in the coming weeks.
In fact, the star receiver will likely have to play the remainder of the season with pain in his foot game after game. It’s the result of his offseason surgery, which repaired a broken bone in his foot. Dez Bryant dealt with a similar issue last season, as did Julian Edelman.
That’s not to say it’ll keep him off the field Sunday, though his availability for the rest of the season remains to be seen.
“That’s kind of out the window,” he said when asked if his foot will allow him to play Sunday, via the team's site. “I know what I’m doing with it. The team knows what I’m dealing with. It’s up to me to go out there and play. If I’m out there playing I can’t feel sorry for myself. The foot is not an excuse or issue.”
Watkins hasn’t missed a game this season, but he hasn’t been himself, either. He’s caught just six passes for 63 yards in two weeks. More alarmingly is he’s not even being targeted on a team with little talent behind him on the depth chart.
He has 11 targets through two games, which is tied for 79th in the NFL. For a No. 1 receiver, that’s not nearly enough. The Bills’ change at offensive coordinator could be centered around getting Watkins the ball more, but that doesn’t mean he’s fully healthy.
“I was happy I ended the game out healthy, and there were things I found out about that I was really good at that I was skeptical about,” said Watkins. “So now it’s about going out there and playing fast and forgetting about the foot.”
The 0-2 Bills take on the Cardinals on Sunday, who just hung 40 points on the Buccaneers. With Watkins not 100 percent, the Bills could be in for a long day offensively.
