‘Breaks my heart’: Bills react to Matt Milano’s injury

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (WROC) — Sean McDermott announced on Thursday before the Bills’ joint practice against the Steelers that linebacker Matt Milano would be out indefinitely with a torn bicep . McDermott added it is too early to know if Milano even has a chance to return this year, though ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that there is hope he could return in December.

Dion Dawkins didn’t even know the extent of the news when he left the practice field and had to be informed by the media. You could see in his immediate reaction the pain that was going through the Bills locker room on Thursday.

“Well, that kind of just hit me a little different,” said Dawkins. “I’m just going to go check on my teammate. I don’t have any thoughts yet. That sucks. I can’t wait to get in there so I can call him.”

“To have this happen, it breaks my heart. It breaks most of our guys’ hearts on the defense,” said edge rusher AJ Epenesa. “We all love and care about him. You guys know what he means to us as a player, as a man, and as a person. It’s hard for us to see him go through this. We’re just going to try and be as supportive as possible.”

What made the news even more devastating is that Milano had worked tirelessly in the offseason to recover from a leg injury that cost him most of last season.

“It’s always hard when a guy fights his way back and gets injured again,” said cornerback Taron Johnson. “That’s very tough for him. I’m just praying for him and I hope for a speedy recovery.”

“He knows that we’re here for him throughout the whole entire process,” said edge rusher Greg Rousseau. “We’re already ready for him to get back right now. He’s got my support, I know he’s got a huge family, and the whole entire organization.”

“Me and Milano got drafted at the same time,” said Dawkins. “We’ve been here through every beat of this. He’s been through a couple of injuries now. The journey just got a little bit harder, but ‘Lano is a special dude. He’ll be back and he’ll fight through it. I just can’t wait to check on him.”

Last year at this time, Terrel Bernard was a second-year linebacker being asked to take over a starting position with a great deal of uncertainty. After the Matt Milano injury news, that’s exactly the situation the Bills are in with Dorian Williams. While several players will be in the mix for the starting job, Williams should get the first shot. Bernard turned into a solid player and a potential standout in the making and his success is certainly an encouraging sign.

“It shows that it’s possible,” said Williams. “It just goes to credit him, how good of a ballplayer he is, the way he studies, the way he goes out there and performs, and the confidence in himself.”

“Dorian’s great,” said Epenesa. “He cares about this, he cares about the team, he cares about doing things the right way. Having him out there with us, I trust in him just as much as Milano.”

“Everybody just has to be ready,” said Dawkins. “Because in this league, it’s a 100% injury rate. Sometimes, it’s 200, sometimes it’s 300. Guys just have to be ready to go.”

“I feel ready,” said Williams. “That’s what we’re brought here to do is to be the next man up. I’ve learned a lot just from the scheme, from all the different coaches, things I’ve learned from Matt [Milano], things I’ve learned from [Terrel Bernard], [Tyrel Dodson], all those guys and the vets in the room. They continue to help me and I appreciate it.”

The Bills have become very good over the last few years of taking mid-to-late-round draft picks on defense and turning them into top players, if not stars. Taron Johnson, Terrel Bernard, Matt Milano, and Christian Benford are all prime examples. There’s no reason they can’t do it again with Dorian Williams.

“There are stars that are made in opportunities like this,” said Johnson.

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