Thad Lewis Injury: Buffalo Bills QB will not play

Buffalo Bills quarterback Thad Lewis (9) against the New Orleans Saints during the second half of a game at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints defeated the Bills 35-17. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Buffalo Bills quarterback Thad Lewis is listed doubtful on the official injury report, as he didn’t have a good enough practice session on Friday. Players listed doubtful on the injury report are almost never active on gameday, and Thad Lewis isn’t about to be the exception to that rule. There was plenty of optimism that Lewis would be able to play through the rib injury if he practiced on Friday, but that wasn’t the case.

According to a league source close to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, Thad Lewis will not play in today’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, and Florio goes as far to state that “there’s no doubt” that Lewis will miss today’s game. It was reported yesterday by CBS Sports’s Jason La Canfora that undrafted free agent rookie Jeff Tuel will start against the Chiefs, and the news that Lewis is worse than just “doubtful” is confirmation that Tuel will start.

Tuel played in relief of injured starter E.J. Manuel when the Bills first-round pick went down with the knee injury in Week 5, and the Washington State product was awful. He was just 8-20 for 80 yards and one interception in the loss, but he did have a very promising preseason. Tuel can’t be worse than veteran backup Matt Flynn, who is slated to be the No. 2 QB to Tuel today.

Update: The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is also reporting that Thad Lewis will not play. Rapoport also confirms that Tuel will start.

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