By: Stephen Patterson
The Buffalo Bills will be without running back Fred Jackson for at least the remainder of the preseason after he injured his left hand against the Washington Redskins in the teams first preseason game. While the extent of the injury is not currently known, Jackson's agent, Jerome Douglas, referred to it as "a bone injury". It is also unknown at this time if the injury is severe enough to require surgery, according to Douglas.
Head coach Chan Gailey said "We hope to get him back for the first game", which doesn't exactly sound like a guarantee he will be healthy. The injury occurred on the second play of the game from scrimmage when he was brought down by Kareem Moore, who was penalized for using the face mask for the tackle. Jackson had been using his left hand to stiff-arm Moore, and then landed on it when he was tackled.
This is a devastating loss for the Bills, but the team still has Marshawn Lynch and rookie C.J. Spiller to fill in for Jackson. Lynch was also injured in the 42-17 loss to the Redskins when he hurt his ankle, but Gailey said he thought the injury is "a lot more short-term than it is long-term".
Although Jackson was listed as the starter heading into training camp, I expected Spiller to be the team's starting running back before the end of the season, prior to this injury suffered by Jackson. If he can show out during the next three games of the preseason, he may already have the job when the team opens the season against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 12.
Jackson supplanted Lynch as the team's starter last season and had a career year, finishing the season with 1,062 rushing yards and 1,014 yards in kickoff returns. With those numbers, Jackson became the first player in NFL history to have over 1,000 yards in each of those categories. Even after such an amazing season by Jackson, the team still drafted Spiller with their first selection in the 2010 NFL Draft.
