PITTSBURGH -- The Buffalo Bills' Matt Milano suffered a torn biceps during Tuesday's practice, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter, and the starting linebacker is out indefinitely, coach Sean McDermott announced Thursday.
Milano will undergo surgery with the hope of trying to return possibly in December, sources told Schefter. Coach Sean McDermott confirmed Milano had a biceps injury ahead of the team's joint practice Thursday with the Pittsburgh Steelers but did not specify that it was a tear.
"It's an unfortunate situation, right," McDermott said. "Matt's a strong young man. I know he's going to handle this. Certainly tough, especially coming off of the year he came off of already.
"The good thing is he's got a good family behind him that are going to support him, teammates that are going to support him as well as the coaching staff and our entire football organization. He's resilient. We've got to be resilient. We've got to move forward and be focused on solutions."
The injury comes in the wake of the 2022 first-team All-Pro playing in only five games last season because of a right leg injury suffered in the team's loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. Milano, 30, who has dealt with injuries through different periods of career, was working his way back from that injury, including fully participating to start training camp, but with planned days off as the team continued to address the injury.
The linebacker was participating normally at the start of Tuesday's practice but suffered the injury during the team's individual drill period while working on a tackling drill. He tackled a bag and hit his arm on it, and also "maybe on somebody's leg just a little bit," per McDermott. He then received attention from trainers and remained at practice with the team, but he did not participate in any more drills as he normally would.
"When you know the person, you know that this is not going to beat or keep Matt Milano down," McDermott said. "Obviously, this period in time right now has been tough for him, for all of us, but in particular for him and his family, 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. So, that's probably one of the harder ... pills to swallow."
The Bills defense has dealt with a variety of significant injuries over the last three years, including former Buffalo cornerback Tre'Davious White's two season-ending injuries.
Milano is among the best coverage linebackers in the league, and he will be a key absence for this unit. Since entering the NFL in 2017, he has allowed the lowest yards per target, completion percentage and passer rating as the nearest defender in coverage among linebackers.
Entering his eighth NFL season, Milano's injury is significant for a defense that has new leaders stepping up with the departure of safeties Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde this offseason. In 2021 and 2022, Milano recorded over 86 tackles in each season and over 12 tackles for loss. He also recorded 11 passes defensed in 2022 and five interceptions over the past two seasons.
"It's not just one person's job to fill the void or try and fill the void left by Matt," McDermott said. "You're never going to replace a player like Matt or Matt's influence, but now it's time for our team to move forward in a resilient manner and pick each other up, and guys like Dorian have to step up."
Linebacker Dorian Williams, the team's 2023 third-round pick, is set to have the opportunity to start at outside linebacker alongside starting middle linebacker Terrel Bernard, a third-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft. Williams has had an up-and-down camp as he continues to develop. McDermott emphasized that it would be up to more than just Williams to step up in Milano's absence.
"'Man, this your opportunity,'" nickel Taron Johnson, one of the team's leaders, said. "There's stars that are made in opportunities like this, so ... just take advantage of what you're given and do your best."
The Bills' defense was a different unit without Milano last season, although it was a small sample size with him on the field, allowing 16 points per game with him and 19.3 in the games without him. The Bills also had sack percentages of 12% with him and 7% without.
Milano signed a two-year contract extension in 2023, linking him with the team through the 2026 season.
"Matt is one of a kind, he's all-pro player and an all-pro person," safety Damar Hamlin said "It's truly hard to replace somebody like that, but this league is next man up mentality, and we'll hold it down for him until he's ready to get back out there with us. So, 58 will always be in our hearts and I can't wait till we get him back out there on the field."