Bills reserve offensive tackle Tommy Doyle ruled out for season

Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott said reserve offensive tackle Tommy Doyle is out for the season after being injured in Saturday night’s preseason loss at Pittsburgh.

Doyle, who was playing right tackle, was carted off the field after awkwardly planting his leg into the turf. The Bills announced it as a left knee injury during the game, as they ruled Doyle out.

Doyle missed the final 13 games of last year after tearing his right ACL during Week 3 in Miami. Doyle finished that game against the Dolphins despite the injury.

“I’m not going to get into specifics, but it’s very unfortunate,” McDermott said Sunday. “I know how hard he’s worked. And we’re just thinking about him right now.”

Doyle’s injury, which followed the retirement of Brandon Shell last week, leaves the Bills with only three backup offensive tackles – David Quessenberry, Ryan Van Demark and rookie Richard Gouraige – behind starters Dion Dawkins (left tackle) and Spencer Brown (right tackle).

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“We remain confident in the guys we have,” McDermott said. “That said, there is certainly a numbers issue. Let’s start there. So, we’ve got more practices ahead, and it’s an area we have to continue to look at and analyze.”

A league source told The Buffalo News on Sunday night that the Bills agreed to sign offensive tackle Garrett McGhin.

McGhin, 27, spent brief stints with the Bills in August 2019 and July 2020 and was most recently with Arlington of the XFL. His only NFL regular season action were two games with Carolina in ‘19.

Doyle’s teammates were clearly upset at seeing his injury. Center Mitch Morse and right tackle Spencer Brown followed Doyle’s cart off the field down the tunnel. After the game, Dawkins lamented another injury for the 25-year-old Doyle.

“Tommy, Tommy, man, he just can’t catch a break, man,” Dawkins said Saturday. “And it sucks. And I hate to honestly see it because that kid has been good. You know, like his sets, he’s been getting good. And then something happens, but it’s ball. I hate that it’s ball. But that’s my brother. I love him for life.”

Elsewhere on the offensive line, McDermott said that the competition at right guard is “still ongoing,” after rookie O’Cyrus Torrence got the start on Saturday.

“I thought, CyBo (Torrence), from a young player’s perspective, again, did a nice job,” McDermott said Sunday. “Did not seem to be too big for him.”

Other injury updates per McDermott:

Defensive end Shane Ray (hamstring) and backup quarterback Matt Barkley (right elbow) are day to day after being injured against Pittsburgh.

Tight end Dawson Knox was held out of Saturday’s game due to a pinkie injury that he sustained “prior to the game in practice,” McDermott said. McDermott expected Knox to participate in the Bills’ walk-through late Sunday afternoon. “We thought it was best to give him some rest (Saturday night),” McDermott said.

Middle linebacker Terrel Bernard (hamstring), who has not played in the preseason, remains out of practice. Bernard has been out since being injured on Aug. 10. McDermott said he did not have an updated timeline for Bernard, and instead gave a day-after evaluation of the other MIKE linebackers in Saturday’s game: “I thought both those guys (Tyrel Dodson and A.J. Klein) played hard, they operated the defense, they commanded the defense,” McDermott said. “Just overall, more work lies ahead of us really at this point.”

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