Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Good to go against New Orleans
Rotowire
Epenesa (pectoral) is active for Sunday's game against the Saints.
Epenesa was limited in practice all week due to a pectoral injury, but he shown enough to be cleared to play in Sunday's contest. The 2020 second-rounder has logged three solo tackles and a fumble recovery through three games while serving in a rotational role at defensive end.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Back at practice Sunday
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Epenesa (ankle) is practicing Sunday, Katherine Fitzgerald of The Buffalo News reports.
Epenesa was held out of practice Friday due to an ankle injury, but the issue appears to have been minor. The veteran pass rusher is looking to record a fourth straight season of at least 6.0 sacks in 2025.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Dealing with ankle issue
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Epenesa did not practice Friday due to an ankle injury, Alex Brasky of SB Nation reports.
Epenesa was seen on the sidelines with a light compression wrap. The injury doesn't appear to be severe, but given it's training camp, the Bills will likely play things conservatively to avoid aggravating the injury. Epenesa is coming off a career year in 2024, starting in 13 of 17 regular-season games while tallying 39 tackles (23 solo), including 6.0 sacks, two pass defenses and two forced fumbles.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Makes 13 starts in 2024
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Epenesa tallied 39 total tackles (23 solo) including 6.0 sacks while adding two passes defended and two forced fumbles across 17 regular-season games in 2024.
Epenesa served as a regular starter on the Bills' defense for the first time in his five-year NFL career. He played a career-high 583 defensive snaps and set a new career high in tackles. However, Epenesa's increased playing time didn't translate into more sacks, as he finished with 0.5 fewer sacks than he managed in either 2022 or 2023. He's expected to return to Buffalo in 2025 after signing a two-year, $12 million extension with the team last offseason.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Sacks Rodgers for safety in Week 17
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Epenesa logged four solo tackles, including 1.0 sacks, during Sunday's 40-14 win over the Jets.
Epenesa logged his sixth sack of the season Sunday when he took down Aaron Rodgers in the end zone for a safety to extend the Bills' lead to nine points late in the second quarter. Epenesa is now up to 6.0 sacks through 16 regular-season games, and he's half a sack shy from tying a career best that he set in each of the last two seasons. However, with the Bills locked into the No. 2 seed of the AFC heading into the postseason, Epenesa may see little work in the regular-season finale against the Patriots next Sunday.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Sacks Rodgers twice in win
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Epenesa recorded four tackles (three solo), including 2.0 sacks, in the Bills' win over the Jets on Monday night.
Additionally, Epenesa forced a fumble of Aaron Rodgers on the first of his two sacks, but Rodgers ended up recovering the loose ball. On Epenesa's second sack, he was flagged for a questionable roughing the passer call on a third-down takedown of Rodgers. Through five games, Epenesa has logged 12 tackles (eight solo), including 3.0 sacks, seven QB hits and one forced fumble on 56 percent of the defensive snaps.
Epenesa (ribs) will not play Saturday against the Chargers.
There was some hope the fourth-year pass rusher would be available Saturday, but he'll ultimately miss his second consecutive game. Kingsley Jonathan and Shaq Lawson will likely see additional opportunities in pass-rushing situations.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Remains week-to-week
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Epenesa (ribs) should still be considered week-to-week, according to head coach Sean McDermott, and the Bills are still gathering information Wednesday as to whether a stint on injured reserve is an option, Jon Scott of Spectrum News 1 reports.
Epenesa suffered the injury in Sunday's game against the Chiefs and appears to potentially be looking at a multi-week absence, considering IR may be an option for the 25-year-old. Any potential absence for him would be a blow to the depth of Buffalo's defensive line and ultimately lead to increased snaps for any of Leonard Floyd, Shaq Lawson or Kingsley Jonathan.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Could miss time
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Epenesa is week-to-week after suffering a rib injury in Sunday's win over the Chiefs, per head coach Sean McDermott, Katherine Fitzgerald of The Buffalo News reports.
Epenesa tried to return to the game after suffering the injury, but he was only able to last one play before exiting again. Whether or not he'll recover in time to suit up in Week 15 against the Cowboys is in question, but his practice status in the days ahead will shed better light on his potential availability for the matchup.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Returns against Kansas City
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Epenesa (ribs) has been cleared to return to Sunday's game against the Chiefs.
Epenesa briefly left Sunday's game following his interception of Patrick Mahomes. Epenesa will return as the depth edge rusher behind Greg Rousseau and Von Miller.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Unlikely to play in Week 12
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Epenesa (ankle) is considered doubtful to play Thursday versus the Lions, Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com reports.
Epenesa suffered an ankle injury in Week 11 against the Browns and was unable to return to the contest. It appears like the injury is still bothering him and he'll likely be forced to take a seat for Thursday's Thanksgiving Day matchup. If the defensive end can't go, Shaq Lawson and Carlos Basham would be set for increases in usage against Detroit.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Won't return Sunday
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Epenesa (ankle) was downgraded to out for the remainder of Sunday's contest against Cleveland.
While the nature of this injury is still unclear, it appears significant enough to keep Epenesa sidelined for the rest of the Bills' Week 11 contest. The 24-year-old will now have a short four-day turnaround before the team's next outing against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Exits versus Cleveland
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Epenesa is questionable to return to Sunday's game against the Browns with an ankle injury.
Epenesa did not record a defensive statistic before exiting at some point during the first half against Cleveland. The 2020 second-round pick played a season-high 61 percent of the Bills' defensive snaps last week versus the Vikings, as starting defensive end Greg Rousseau was sidelined with an ankle injury. With Rousseau once again ruled inactive Week 11, Buffalo's defensive line will be left short-handed against the Browns' run-heavy offense for the time being.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Removed from injury report
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Epenesa (ankle) is no longer on the Bills' injury report Wednesday.
Epenesa cleared COVID protocols Wednesday, but he was also dealing with an ankle injury previously. Now cleared and healthy, he'll look to provide depth on the Bills' defensive line Sunday against the Falcons.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Activated by Bills
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The Bills activated Epenesa (ankle) from the reserve/COVID-19 list Wednesday.
Epenesa landed on the COVID-19 list early last week but will now be eligible to rejoin the team. The 23-year-old was inactive in Week 15 due to an ankle injury, and it's not yet clear whether the issue will impact his availability for Sunday's game against Atlanta.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Not suiting up
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Epenesa (ankle) is inactive Week 15 against Carolina.
Epenesa popped up on the injury report Friday with an ankle issue, and it will ultimately force him to sit out his second game of the season, potentially hurting the depth of the Bills' pass rush.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Questionable for Sunday
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Epenesa (ankle) is questionable for Sunday against the Panthers.
Epenesa was able to log a limited practice Friday. The second-year pro plays a rotational role on the Bills' defensive line, and if he were unable to go Sunday, Efe Obada and Mario Addison would likely see a jump in snaps.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Foot injury surfaces
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Epenesa practiced on a limited basis Thursday due to a foot injury.
The defensive lineman, whose play has been turning heads in his second season, was able to practice fully Wednesday, so he must have picked up the injury in practice this week. We'll see if he's able to practice Friday ahead of Sunday's big road game in Kansas City.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Ready for Week 15
Rotowire
Epenesa (head) practiced fully again Saturday and does not have an injury designation for Monday's game at New England.
This is no surprise for the Iowa rookie, who avoided a concussion following a hit last Saturday against the Broncos. He'll resume his depth role on the defensive line against the Patriots.
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Bills' A.J. Epenesa: Back to practice
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Epenesa, who had to leave the team's Week 9 contest against the Cardinals with a concussion, was able to practice fully Wednesday.
Not that concussions can ever come at the right time, but the rookie from Iowa did get the advantage of the bye to work his way through the protocol and will likely not miss any game action. Epenesa continues to work as a rotational piece as he gets acclimated to the NFL, as he hasn't seen more than 35 percent of the defensive snaps in any game this season.
