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Ed Oliver of the Buffalo Bills.
The Buffalo Bills 40-9 victory over the Carolina Panthers Sunday appeared to signal a return to form for the preseason Super Bowl favorites who had entered their bye week having lost two straight games.
But the comfortable victory did not come without a heavy price. Bills defensive lineman Ed Oliver, in the third year of a four-season, $68 million post-rookie contract extension, was forced to leave the game with what at the time appeared to be an arm injury, specifically to his left biceps.
With Oliver’s fellow defensive lineman DaQuan Jones also remaining out with a calf injury that has sidelined him since the October 5 loss to the New England Patriots, the injury to Oliver raised the unsettling possibility that the Bills defensive line would be missing two important players when Buffalo hosts its arch-rival, the Kansas City Chiefs at 4:25 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday.
Surgery Required for Oliver’s Injury
On Monday, Bills head coach Sean McDermott confirmed that Oliver will require surgery to repair a biceps tear and will likely miss the remainder of the season, possibly including the postseason.
Oliver himself appeared to confirm that he will miss the season going forward with the injury but also said that he could be back in time for the Super Bowl, in an Instagram post Monday afternoon.
“I’ll be back just in time to play for it all,” Oliver wrote in the post.
Earlier in the day on Monday, Oliver had posted a more downbeat message, saying on his Instagram account, “Sack leader for DT (defensive tackles) was 4.5. I had 3 sacks with only playing 2 1/2 games. Bruhh. That injury bug a [expletive].”
Typical Recovery Time Would Rule Out Entire Postseason
Of course, for Oliver to actually return in time for the Super Bowl, set for February 8, 2026, at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California, the Bills need to get there first. With Oliver now out, and the continuing absence of Jones, the Bills defense looks significantly weaker, reducing their chances of getting to Super Bowl 60.
According to NFL Network reporter Ian Rapport, “there’s a chance he’s back for the playoffs,” but that report seems highly optimistic.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, typical recovery time from the surgery ranges from four to six months, meaning that even in a best-case scenario, Oliver would need until the end of February at the earliest to heal from the surgery, and possibly until the end of April.
Either timeline would appear to rule out an appearance by Oliver in the Super Bowl, even if the Bills somehow manage to reach the NFL’s championship game without him.
Bills Must Face Chiefs With Weakened Defensive Line
One thing that is certain — Oliver will not be available for Sunday’s rivalry game against the Chiefs, a showdown that could go a long way toward determining seeding in the AFC playoffs, and even possibly who gets a first-round bye.
Though the Bills have lost four straight playoff games to the Chiefs going back to 2021, they have also won four consecutive regular season games, a streak that also extends back to 2021.
Oliver has appeared in only three games so far this season, missing four weeks with an ankle injury. Sunday’s game against the Panthers was only Oliver’s second since his return. But the 2019 first-round draft pick recorded one sack in each of the three games he played.
Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist and writer who now covers baseball and other sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering Japan Pro Baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin
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