Stevie Johnson Injury: Buffalo Bills WR still not practicing

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson (13) catches a pass in front of Washington Redskins safety Jordan Pugh (32) at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Buffalo Bills star wide receiver Stevie Johnson suffered a new groin injury in last week’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Johnson was immediately unsure of his Week 11 status following the game. The Bills face the rival New York Jets this week, and they could be without both of their top two wide receivers for this week’s game. Robert Woods’s status is in doubt after missing last week’s game with an ankle injury, and Johnson looks very doubtful to play. After missing Wednesday’s and Thursday’s practices, head coach Doug Marrone stated yesterday that he “doesn’t feel good” about the chances that Johnson plays this week.

Now that Johnson has missed today’s practice, according to WGR 550’s Joe Buscaglia, it is impossible to envision him playing through a groin injury against the Jets. It’s a huge blow to the Bills and rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel, as Johnson is definitely the team’s best receiver and one of the team’s best players. But it’s also a blow that wasn’t difficult to see, because the groin injury didn’t look good from the start.

I wonder if the fact that the Bills have a bye week in Week 12 is a factor here, because it could make the Bills more motivated to rest a star WR and a rookie WR; it could even be more motivation than the desire to have one or both of them back for a division game. At this point in time, it would be a fool’s errand to start Stevie Johnson in a fantasy league or expect him to be out there on Sunday.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter for more NFL updates and analysis @SorianoJoe. Be sure to like us on Facebook here and follow our site on Twitter as well.