The Buffalo Bills and their fans are holding their breath for kicker Matt Prater.
That's because the veteran suffered a right quadriceps injury in the Week 18 victory over the New York Jets. What makes the injury more troubling is the fact that Prater has already missed two games this season with the same issue.
As the Bills prepare for their wild-card matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, head coach Sean McDermott offered a better-than-expected update on Prater.
McDermott revealed that Prater is currently considered day-to-day, which he says is a good sign.
McDermott did add, however, that the team still plans on bringing in free-agent kickers in the event Prater can't give it a go this weekend.
"Matt Prater is day to day, which Sean McDermott considers a good sign. The team will probably still bring in kickers for tryouts this week to have some insurance," the Buffalo News' Jay Skurski said. "The team is preparing for both scenarios depending on Prater's availability."
When it comes to Tyler Bass, who has spent the entire season on injured reserve, McDermott reiterated that he is unlikely to return, which isn't surprising.
Back in December, McDermott revealed Bass simply couldn't shake his injury and had to have surgery as a result.
The Bills are obviously in a rough spot if Prater can't play.
As the team found out during Prater's absence, the options on the free-agent market are slim, at best, and the last thing Buffalo wants is to have to deal with another situation like the Michael Badgley fiasco.
If the Bills do have to go with a kicker off the street, we'd expect Buffalo to be a lot more aggressive on fourth downs in field goal territory in order to avoid having to rely on whoever it is replaces Prater.
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