The Buffalo Bills may be without one of their most productive defensive players when lining up against the surging Cincinnati Bengals, which could leave an unfamiliar face in line for a prominent role come Sunday afternoon.
Edge rusher Joey Bosa sustained a hamstring injury during the second half of the Bills’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers this past week, likely to leave him sidelined for the Week 14 tilt with Cincinnati, and perhaps beyond.
If Bosa is to miss this weekend’s contest, that could leave one of the Bills’ midseason additions, practice squad defensive lineman Morgan Fox, to become a significant factor for the team up front defensively against the Bengals. And when meeting the media at One Bills Dr. On Wednesday afternoon, Fox expressed his level of preparedness for his potential opportunity.
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Buffalo Bills defensive end Joey Bosa watches the offensive line on the field during second half action against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov 16, 2025 at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“You always just prepare — you prepare no matter what,” said Fox, who signed with the Bills on Nov. 12. “Just being a professional in this business, you prepare every week. You never know what’s going to happen. You hate to see something happen to a guy at the end of the day. And so you just prepare every week. You never know what’s going on. And you just kind of get ready regardless of what happens.”
If they are to be without Bosa, that would leave the Bills with just three healthy edge rushers on their 53-man roster: Greg Rousseau, A.J. Epenesa and Javon Solomon. Fox is one of three edge rushers on the team’s practice squad, joining Shaq Lawson and Andre Jones Jr.
If he is to be elevated on Sunday, Fox will be expected to bring a versatile skill set to the table for the Bills’ defense. He can line up at various positions along the defensive front and may bring back something near what the now-injured Michael Hoecht provided the Buffalo D-line before he was placed on Injured Reserve due to an Achilles injury.
Before he was injured, Hoecht briefly wreaked havoc from both inside and outside up front, and Fox may have the opportunity to do the same against Cincinnati.
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“I’ve just been somebody who’s been consistent,” added the 31-year-old defensive lineman. “I can rush wherever they need me. And I can just kind of be a problem solver. You need somebody on the outside, you need somebody inside. It’s something I’ve been able to do is just always be able to help where the team needs it.”
Fox has recorded 15.5 sacks over the past three seasons, and while he doesn’t provide nearly the threat that Bosa does from the edge rusher position, the Bills’ hope when they signed Fox was that he would be capable of filling in in a big spot, such as what will be presented if Bosa is incapable of suiting up against the Bengals.
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