{"id":862651,"date":"2026-04-09T23:00:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T23:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/862651\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T23:00:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T23:00:32","slug":"bills-defensive-x-factor-reveals-injury-update-amid-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/862651\/","title":{"rendered":"Bills’ Defensive X Factor Reveals Injury Update Amid Recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dorian Strong\u2019s health is one of the most important factors weighing into the Buffalo Bills\u2019 offseason<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The second-year cornerback saw his rookie year come to an abrupt end<\/a> when he sustained a frightening neck injury, forcing him to\u00a0Injured\u00a0Reserve before he underwent a procedure to repair the ailment this offseason. Strong is now in recovery and has shared a positive update as he works his way back to the playing field.<\/p>\n

The Bills\u2019 cornerback posted a video to his Instagram account displaying progress in his recovery. The video shows Strong jogging in a pool while wearing a brace supporting his injured neck.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe collar is to protect the surgical area and prevent incidental head movement,\u201d wrote\u00a0Banged Up Bills\u00a0injury expert Dr. Kyle Trimble in a post on X. \u201cHe\u2019s roughly 2 months out from surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n

There remains uncertainty concerning Strong\u2019s future availability<\/a>, but the fact that he is on his feet and exercising is a good sign as he tries to make a comeback.<\/p>\n

Critical cog\"Dorian<\/p>\n

Buffalo Bills cornerback Dorian Strong (43) runs between drills during training camp at St. John Fisher University. | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Whether Strong can continue his playing career is of great importance to the Bills, not only off the field as they continue to support one of their own through a difficult time, but also on the field. The former late-round pick proved he belonged, albeit during brief playing time throughout his rookie year and was sure to factor into the team\u2019s plans at the position in 2026.<\/p>\n

Buffalo is planning to start 2025 first-round pick Maxwell Hairston opposite incumbent starter Christian Benford this season.\u00a0While Hairston showed flashes of brilliance<\/a> as a first-year pro, which provides some\u00a0sort of\u00a0encouragement that he can transform into an adequate first-teamer, the Bills are bereft of depth at cornerback, and if\u00a0Strong cannot return, that would place them into an even more dire situation entering the 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n

\"Dorian<\/p>\n

Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) runs the ball during the second quarter against Buffalo Bills cornerback Dorian Strong (43) at Highmark Stadium. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

It appears to be too early to tell if Strong\u2019s procedure and subsequent rehab will preserve his career. With that said, Buffalo should be thinking long and hard about selecting a cornerback <\/a>at some point in the upcoming draft. Otherwise, they may be forced to move forward with the likes of MJ Devonshire as their top backup at the position.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s that, you may ask?<\/p>\n

Exactly.<\/p>\n

The first round at pick No. 26 may be too soon for Buffalo to go after a CB, but if they depart Pittsburgh without one, it would be a major fail with Strong\u2019s future remaining in question.<\/p>\n

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram<\/a> for the latest news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dorian Strong\u2019s health is one of the most important factors weighing into the Buffalo Bills\u2019 offseason. The second-year…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":862652,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2048],"tags":[215,214,53,2086,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-862651","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-buffalo-bills","8":"tag-bills","9":"tag-buffalo","10":"tag-buffalo-bills","11":"tag-buffalobills","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116377239414729926","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}