ORCHARD PARK – Joshua Palmer’s disappointing first season with the Buffalo Bills will continue its downward spiral Sunday as he will once again be unavailable to play against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Coach Sean McDermott said Friday morning that Palmer has not practiced all week and he would be listed as doubtful for the game, which is all but a guarantee that he will be on the sidelines.
Joey Bose, Terrel Bernard out in Bills injury report
As for players already ruled out, there are two – edge rusher Joey Bosa and linebacker Terrel Bernard. Bosa suffered a hamstring injury in the victory over the Steelers last Sunday, while Bernard will miss his second straight game after suffering a dislocated elbow in the loss at Houston on Nov. 20.
McDermott said that edge rusher AJ Epenesa, who did practice Thursday because of a foot injury, was back to work Friday and he’ll be fine for the game, obviously a good piece of news with Bosa already out.
Will Dalton Kincaid play vs Bengals?
Tight end Dalton Kincaid’s situation, though, remains murky. He has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury and Thursday was wearing a brace on the knee that he hurt last season. McDermott said that it was more of a precautionary thing with the brace, but still, it’s not great for his potential to play in a game where the Bills could really use his presence in the sagging passing game.
There was more good news as offensive tackle Dion Dawkins has officially cleared concussion protocol and will be good to go for the game. The other offensive tackle, Spencer Brown, has been limited in practice with the shoulder injury that forced him to miss the Pittsburgh. His status will likely be questionable and if he can’t play, the Bills have several choices to replace him including Ryan Van Demark, Alec Anderson or Tylan Grable.
Joshua Palmer’s frustrating season continues
Palmer has endured a frustrating season. The free agent signee started slowly and had minimal impact in the first five games, then suffered an ankle injury in Week 6 at Atlanta which knocked him out for three games.
He played in two games and again had very little impact, then reaggravated the injury in practice last week and was inactive for the Steelers game.
Fortunately for the Bills, they will be able to overcome his absence with Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Tyrell Shavers, Gabe Davis and newcomer Brandin Cooks available to play.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 36 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
