Buffalo Bills cornerback Leodis McKelvin left last night’s loss to the Miami Dolphins with an ankle injury and was immediately ruled questionable to return, but the Bills saw that the injury was more severe than initially thought and ruled him out shortly after. McKelvin has been as solid starting corner for the Bills ever since turning things around last season, though he did start to shed the “bust” label with some credible coverage in the 2012 campaign.
According to the Bills official Twitter account, head coach Doug Marrone stated that McKelvin is dealing with a fracture ankle, adding that the team is in “discussions” about what they should do with his roster spot. It sounds like McKelvin’s injury is either season-ending or just about at that point. You can certainly understand why the Bills would be carefully contemplating their next move, because there are a lot of wrinkles to this. Let’s briefly take a look at them in a numerical list.
1. The Bills are in playoff contention, and McKelvin is a solid CB who provides the team with depth and stability. If they can afford to keep him around, then he could help them down the stretch.
2. That said, they don’t exactly need him either, because he is eating into Corey Graham’s playing time. Graham has been a breakout star and one of the best cornerbacks in the league this season.
3. It’s so late in the year that even a six-week injury could require some injured reserve thought, and they must be wondering if a roster spot is worth saving for a guy who might only play two games this year, if that.
It will be interesting to see if we learn more about McKelvin’s projected timetable, which will have the potential to fluctuate.