Bills' Sammy Watkins: Playing through broken bone

Watkins is playing with a broken bone in his left foot, according to offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn, who expressed uncertainty regarding how big a role the wideout will play in upcoming games: "I don't know if he's going to play one play or 20 plays. So we'll just see how big his role is. I'd like to keep him in there the whole time, but I can't say. He's tough, he's very determined to stay on the football field, but he has a broken bone in his foot at the end of the day," The Buffalo News reports.

Analysis:

Watkins, who had offseason surgery to repair the notorious Jones foot fracture, returned to play for the first time since Week 2 last Sunday against the Jaguars, finishing with an impressive three catches for 80 yards despite playing just under half of the Bills' offensive snaps. Although that involvement was followed by some soreness that resulted in Watkins sitting out Wednesday's practice, he was out there Friday and looks likely to play again this weekend versus the Raiders. While Watkins has downplayed any injury, Lynn has revealed he's still playing with a broken bone in his foot, making the wideout's snap count dependent on his ability to tolerate any pain stemming from the ailment. That reality makes it hard to rely on Watkins, but the fact that he caught a season-long 62-yard pass last weekend shows Watkins remarkably still boasts explosiveness despite not being fully healthy.