Sammy Watkins' aching foot is becoming a big concern for the Bills
The Buffalo Bills spent most of Sunday’s season-opening loss to the Ravens running in place, and that might continue if star receiver Sammy Watkins can’t effectively deal with the pain in his surgically repaired left foot.
Watkins had just four catches for 43 yards in a 13-7 defeat, and the bad news for Buffalo is those numbers were both team highs. Monday reports in the New York Daily News and Buffalo News indicated that Watkins’ X-Ray following the game was clean but that consideration was given to shutting him down for several weeks.
That won’t happen, according to NFL Network, but the Bills’ season could hinge on whether Watkins can play effectively with the injury.
At one point last night, the #Bills thought Sammy Watkins had re-broken his foot or the screw. Not the case. Now it’s pain management.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 12, 2016
Watkins, the fourth pick in the 2014 draft, led the Bills with 60 catches for 1,047 yards in 13 games last season, and no one else on the team topped Robert Woods’ 552 receiving yards. Woods had four catches for a measly 20 yards Sunday, emphasizing the fact that the Bills don’t have anyone remotely capable of filling Watkins’ role if he’s unable to play like a No. 1 receiver.
Games against three strong defenses – Jets, Cardinals, Patriots – are next, so the Bills had better hope Watkins figures out how to better play with the injury in a hurry.
