The Buffalo Bills ' offense is preparing for arguably its toughest test yet, and injuries are making matters even tougher .
As the Bills practice for their Monday Night Football road matchup against the Minnesota Vikings , and their second-ranked defense, the left side of Buffalo's starting offensive line is currently on the shelf.
For the second day in a row, left tackle Dion Dawkins and left guard Alec Anderson were absent during the media-viewing portion on Friday in Orchard Park (h/t WGR's Sal Capaccio).
Both hog mollies appeared as non-participants on Thursday's official injury report , causing serious concern about their availability against the Vikings' vaunted defense. Minnesota generates a sack on a remarkably high 12.32 percent of pass attempts, a mark that widely leads the NFL and will make it difficult to keep quarterback Josh Allen clean.
On the bright side, starting right tackle Spencer Brown was practicing for the second day in a row. Brown missed the Week 8 home game due to a back flare-up with backup Tylan Grable starting in his place.
Sep 27, 2026; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Spencer Brown (79) in pass protection against the Los Angeles Chargers in the second half at New Highmark Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Should Brown and Dawkins be unavailable, the Bills would presumably start Grable at left tackle while filling the right tackle spot with fourth-round rookie Jude Bowry or little-used Chase Lundt.
As the team worked indoors at the fieldhouse on Friday, defensive tackle Greg Gaines and wide receiver Josh Palmer were missing again. The former suffered a practice injury last week, and the latter pulled his hamstring in the November 1 win.
It came as somewhat of a surprise when Dawkins was absent on Thursday. The veteran bookend appeared to come out of Sunday's win unscathed, but, as it turned out, he's dealing with a rib injury.
Dawkins played all but the last four snaps in Week 8 as he gave way to the reserves for the final possession as did Allen and starting center Connor McGovern.
The usually durable Dawkins missed only one start due to injury over his last three full seasons. With such a track record, one has to think he'll play through pain if possible, especially with his team facing a potent pass rush.
Oct 18, 2026; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins (73) blocks Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Kwity Paye (95) during the fourth quarter at Allegiant Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
An ankle problem forced Anderson into the blue evaluation tent following a red zone completion to Khalil Shakir on the game's opening possession in Week 8.
Anderson missed the two subsequent snaps as the Bills punched it into the end zone on a Josh Allen one-yard push. He returned for the Bills' next possession, and appeared to fight through the remainder of the game without issue. Apparently, he was spotted wearing a walking boot when exiting the locker room postgame.
Should Anderson need the week off, look for grizzled veteran Austin Corbett to earn his first Bills' start. Corbett totaled eight offensive snaps in the 36-10 win.
Oct 18, 2026; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Alec Anderson (70) in his stance during the second quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/bills/onsi as Bills' Practice Update Reason to Worry for Injured OL Starters' Week 9 Availability .
