The Buffalo Bills will be without several key defensive players when they travel to Detroit to take on the Cleveland Browns this weekend. Bills head coach Sean McDermott announced on Friday that star cornerback Tre'Davious White will not make his season debut on Sunday, and that edge rusher Gregory Rousseau and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds will each be out for the game as well.
White has not played since tearing his ACL in Week 12 of the 2021 season. One of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, the Bills have declared him eligible to return from injured reserve and brought him back onto the active roster within the 21-day practice window, but he has yet to be active on game day.
Rousseau, a breakout pass rusher across from Von Miller who was the team's first-round pick in 2021, has five sacks, seven tackles for loss, and nine quarterback hits in eight games this season. He is dealing with an ankle injury that the team has described as week to week.
Edmunds missed practice on both Wednesday and Thursday with a groin injury. Along with Matt Milano, he forms an important part of the Bills' pass defense, which is among the best in the league at preventing deep passes. Without safety Micah Hyde and with Jordan Poyer being banged up throughout the year, the linebackers have taken on even more importance this year.
The Browns do not have a particularly explosive passing game, but the absence of both Rousseau and Edmunds will also be felt in the run game, where the Browns will presumably look to ride Nick Chubb on their way to an upset in Detroit.
