Fred Jackson and Stephen Hill Injury Updates

Buffalo Bills head coach Chan Gailey has stated that star running back Fred Jackson will practice this week, and the star RB has targeted next week’s game against the New England Patriots as his return target. That would be way ahead of the expected six-week timetable (three to eight weeks) for Jackson, who has shown that he is one of the NFL’s toughest players with what is shaping up to be an incredibly quick return from an LCL tear.

Timothy T. Ludwig-US PRESSWIRE

That return will need to be a smooth one for the Bills, and the sooner the better for the team in lieu of the shoulder injury that fellow star back C.J. Spiller suffered yesterday. He is expected to be out for one or two weeks, so not having both backs would be a huge blow to the Bills. In fact, they would have almost no chance of beating the Pats with Tashard Choice leading the ground attack. That’s not a knock on Choice, but it is a testament to how good Spiller and Jackson are and how important they are to what the Bills do on offense.

Jackson will practice at some point this week, and Gailey said that he is not sure on the exact date, “I don’t know if it’ll be Wednesday or Thursday, but [Jackson] should practice some time this week. His recovery has been amazing.”

The New York Jets received some terrible news when it was confirmed that star cornerback Darrelle Revis tore his ACL, but there is another bit of news regarding rookie wide receiver Stephen Hill.

The Georgia Tech product is reportedly “iffy”  for Week 4’s game against the San Francisco 49ers. Hill has not caught a pass since going off for five catches and 89 yards (two touchdowns) in his NFL debut against the Buffalo Bills. A raw receiver, Hill struggles with his route-running and is extremely inconsistent, but he has an immense amount of raw potential with his speed and can go off against overly aggressive cornerbacks (like he did against Buffalo). We’ll see how things move forward for Hill, and the Jets depth at receiver will be tested if he misses the game against the 49ers. He probably won’t have an impact against their tough secondary anyway, but it’s much better to have their best vertical threat.

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