Buffalo Bills Place Tre'Davious White on PUP

Disappointing injury news out of Buffalo today. The Bills announced they were placing star cornerback Tre'Davious White on the reserve/PUP list to start the season. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport was first with the news:

#Bills star CB Tre'Davious White will start on the reserve/PUP list, per me and @TomPelissero as he works his way back. He’s out the first four games.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 30, 2022

The move guarantees White will miss the first four games of the season. A two-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro, White tore his ACL in week 12 of the 2021 season. A timeline that might have seen him start early in the year would have been optimistic, but not entirely unprecedented. Running back Adrian Peterson returned for the season opener of the 2012 season following a week 16 tear in 2011, and wide receiver Wes Welker accomplished the same feat in 2010 after a week 17 tear in the 2009 season.

With many insiders pencilling in the Bills as the Super Bowl favorites out of the AFC, it makes sense for the team to take its time with their star player. Buffalo finished first in yards and points allowed on defense in 2021, but White's absence reared its ugly head against the league's best offenses: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers scored 32 in a late-season contest, and who can forget the Chiefs dropping 42 in the divisional round of the playoffs. If the Bills want to finish strong this year, it's better to have White late than early.