The Bills play at 1 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday. That's about the only positive that can be drawn from LeSean McCoy's circumstances, in which he either will or won't play through a hamstring injury.
ESPN yesterday reported he wouldn't play, but another report called him a gametime decision. Now this report from the Buffalo News, in which McCoy was stretching with the team at the start of Friday's practice and taking part in the portion of practice open to the media. McCoy will no doubt show up on the injury report as questionable and limited participation in practice, leaving us to guess whether he'll be inactive or active. And if he does play, how much will he play?
It affects those who have McCoy, obviously, and also those hoping to use Mike Gillislee against his former team. Gillislee looks like a great option if McCoy is inactive, but merely a decent one if McCoy is active. Seems like at best McCoy wouldn't be in for his usual role, but tough to leave him on the bench -- or count on Gillislee -- if he's active.
Ideally, the Bills will do us all a favor and either scratch McCoy, or say he's fine and in line for something close to his usual workload. But we probably won't be that lucky.
Setting my lineups right now, I'm benching McCoy and using Gillislee. That could change come Sunday morning, but right now Gillislee looks like the superior option.
--Andy Richardson