Bills' Sammy Watkins exits game vs. Lions after re-aggravating rib injury
Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins was back on the field for the team's preseason finale against the Detroit Lions on Thursday, but he wouldn't stay there long.
.@sammywatkins going to locker room after taking a shot on previous possession. Was examined by doctors now walking there with 2 docs #Bills
— Chris Brown (@ChrisBrownBills) August 28, 2014
The Bills' coaching staff had hoped to get Watkins some extra playing time in advance of the regular season after he missed each of the last two preseason games with bruised ribs, but he appeared to re-injure those ribs in the first quarter on a hard hit from a Lions linebacker when EJ Manuel threw him a pass on a slant route.
"It was a tight throw. He just probably got a little banged up,"Manuel told reporters after the game. "He'll be fine."
Watkins was examined on the sidelines by the team's medical staff for about 10 minutes before being escorted to the locker room for further examination.
"Once the trainers cleared him to play, I was excited about it," explained head coach Doug Marrone. "You never know. X-rays, tests, things like that. Shows up one day, doesn't show up the next day. Could be out, could be in. Depends on the player. Could be a week, could be four to six weeks, could be longer. I'm not getting into all of that."