Bills LB Matt Milano suffers torn biceps, out indefinitely, source confirms (2024)

PITTSBURGH – Three weeks before the regular season even starts, the Buffalo Bills have suffered a devastating blow.

Veteran linebacker Matt Milano suffered a torn biceps that will require surgery and take him out of the lineup indefinitely, coach Sean McDermott announced Thursday ahead of a joint practice with the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Milano, 30, suffered the injury during Tuesday’s practice in Orchard Park.

“I mean, Matt’s a heck of a football player. If we back up, those of us that know Matt, I mean, he’s a tremendous young man,” McDermott said. “He’s got a good head on his shoulders. He’s been through it and this game means a lot to him; this team means a lot to him. So that, in addition to the injury, is what makes this difficult. ... Obviously, this period of time right now has been tough for him, for all of us, but in particular for him and his family.”

It is the second straight year Milano has dealt with a major injury. He was limited to just five games during the 2023 season after breaking his leg in a Week 5 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.

“He knows all the work that he put in. No one knows the work that Matt put in to get himself back to where he was before this recent injury,” McDermott said. “That’s probably one of the harder ... pills to swallow right now is, we just saw him work his butt off. He stayed in Buffalo all summer to get back off of the leg injury and now this happens, so it’s an unfortunate set of circ*mstances, but again, I know he’s going to handle it well.”

Milano was a first-team All-Pro in 2022 who had shown flashes in training camp of getting back to the complete sideline-to-sideline linebacker he had been before getting hurt in Week 5 against the Jaguars. He was hurt Tuesday participating in a tackling drill during the individual portion of practice.

“He’s been through a couple of injuries now,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said following Thursday’s practice. The journey just got a little harder, but you know, ‘Lano’ is a special dude. He’ll be back. He’ll fight through it. I just can’t wait to check on him.”

Dawkins and Milano were part of the Bills’ 2017 draft class – the first under McDermott. Only long snapper Reid Ferguson has been with the team longer.

“I mean, it’s really tough,” nickel cornerback Taron Johnson said of Milano’s injury. “It’s always hard when a guy fights his way back and gets injured again. ... Just praying for him and hoping it’s a speedy recovery.”

McDermott said it was too soon to know whether Milano would be able to return at any point this season.

Last fall, former New England pass rusher Matthew Judon suffered a torn biceps in Week 4 of the regular season. He posted on social media 10 weeks later, on Nov. 30, that he could at least return to practice, but the lowly Patriots opted to shut him down for the season. In a later interview in early February, Judon said he was fully ready 19 weeks later.

In 2022, Chargers left tackle Rashawn Slater tore his biceps in Week 3 of the regular season. He said he could have played in divisional round of the playoffs 19 weeks later, but the Chargers lost in the AFC wild-card round.

If Milano’s surgery goes well and he faces a similar timeline of 19 weeks, he would potentially be able to make a return late in the regular season or early in the playoffs, assuming the Bills make it that far. Of course, that’s not guaranteed.

Milano signed a contract extension in March 2023 that keeps him in Buffalo through the 2026 season. He is set to count $12.437 million against the salary cap this year.

Early in training camp, Milano spoke with The Buffalo News about his confidence in returning from that injury.

“I trust myself and my work and what I’ve been able to do previously,” he said at the time. “There have always been setbacks in my career, and I’ve always come out and blossomed from them.”

This week’s injury has set him back again.