Bills LB Terrel Bernard suffered a strain -- rather than a tear -- to his right pectoral in Thursday night's win over the Dolphins. Both NFL Network's Kyle Brandt and ESPN's Adam Schefter report that the team expects Bernard to miss about a month. Whether the Bills put him on IR ahead of the Week 3 game against Jacksonville should tell us if they think he can get back in fewer than four games.
This is obviously a positive for both IDP fantasy managers and the Bills defense, which had already lost LB Matt Milano to injury.
Interestingly, LB Dorian Williams didn't appear to see any playing-time boost with Bernard going down. He followed an 85% snap share in Week 1 with just 70% against Miami.
Bernard replacement Baylon Spector, meanwhile, played 82% and matched Williams' 10 tackles.
It looks like we should expect something near full-time duty for Spector while Bernard is out. That makes him a waiver target for deeper IDP leagues ahead of Week 3.
S Damar Hamlin racked up 10 tackles against the Dolphins, including a team-high 8 solos -- despite spending most of his time in a deep-safety position. That marked a stark change from Week 1, when he played 25 of 61 snaps "in the box."
Box snaps are generally more conducive to fantasy points for safeties than is playing deep. Hamlin's Week 2 production might have been fluky or based on the matchup.
But he also might continue to see more tackle opportunities behind a LB corps that has now lost both starters to injuries.
Hamlin will be worth a look for Week 3 lineups. I'll keep watching his role and production.
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