Sammy Watkins Injury: Buffalo Bills Wide Receiver Suffers Second Rib Injury

Sammy Watkins suffered another injury to his already battered ribs in the team’s preseason finale, causing Buffalo Bills fans to hold their collective breath and wait for news of its severity.

In a 23-0 loss to the Detroit Lions, Watkins was hit hard by linebacker Ashlee Palmer and was taken to the sidelines, where he was seen feeling under his shoulder pads at his ribs. He was examined by team doctor John Marzo and later went to the locker room.

On the play, quarterback EJ Manuel stared down Watkins and was late on the throw, allowing Palmer to line up a hard hit.

Watkins did not return to the game.

The team’s first-round pick had first hurt his ribs in the team’s third preseason game, against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was kept out of the next game as a precaution, though Watkins said he could have played if needed.

“I’m fine, I could go out there and practice if I need to,” Watkins said Tuesday, via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. “But the thing is doing it without pain, but I could play a full game right now. It’s just being safe.”

The statement didn’t exactly go over well with Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone, who took the No. 4 overall pick to task for speaking so openly about his injury.

“I told Sammy that you can’t talk about injuries,” Marrone said after the team’s third preseason game. “That’s what gets you in a bind and it doesn’t make us look good when you start saying those things. The doctor, at the end of the day, said he couldn’t play.”

But this week Sammy Watkins was cleared of the injury and returned to full practice. Still, some believe that Marrone should have kept Watkins out of the final contest as a precaution.

The Buffalo Bills had not offered on update on the Sammy Watkins injury and it is unclear if he could miss the team’s season opener against the Chicago Bears.