The Bills have dodged a bullet on the Sammy Watkins front.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Friday that Buffalo's first-round wide receiver came out of Thursday night's preseason loss to the Lions without a serious injury to his ribs, per a source informed of the team's situation. The feeling from the Bills is that Watkins should be good to go for Sunday's opener against the Bears.
Watkins reinjured his ribs attempting to haul in a pass from quarterback EJ Manuel. Absorbing a forearm shiver on the play from Detroit's Ashlee Palmer, the No. 4 overall pick left the field for the locker room on Buffalo's second drive.
The former Clemson star first tweaked his ribs against the Steelers in Buffalo's second preseason tilt before sitting out last week against the Buccaneers.
The Bills shipped next year's first-round pick to the Browns in order to trade up and secure the rights to Watkins, viewed internally as an offensive savior and the player primed to flip Manuel's switch. The rookie pass-catcher dazzled during camp, but we haven't seen much chemistry between Watkins and his quarterback in live game action.
Getting back on the field and staying there would help.
The latest "Around The NFL Podcast" hands out the first annual Preseason Awards and predicts the major winners of the regular-season awards.
