Bills Get Worst News Ahead of Critical Steelers Game
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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 26: Head coach Sean McDermott of the Buffalo Bills runs onto the field prior to the game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on October 26, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
The Buffalo Bills will be shorthanded when they face the Pittsburgh Steelers in a critical game for their playoff hopes — and will see an opponent that is getting healthier.
The Bills have some critical injuries on offense, losing two of their starting offensive lineman. The Steelers will be getting their top player back, with a report on Friday that Aaron Rodgers is set to play for the first time since suffering a broken wrist.
Mike Tomlin Makes Big Announcement on Aaron Rodgers
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin announced on Friday that Rodgers was able to return to practice in full after breaking his left wrist.
“He was a full participant today with no designation for the game,” Tomlin told reporters after practice, via ESPN. “So it’s all systems go.”
Rodgers was hurt in the team’s game against the
Tomlin said Rodgers is growing more comfortable, and the team’s medical staff felt good giving him the OK to play.
“Just more reps certainly, but certainly it’s another week,” Tomlin said. “And so I’m sure there’s more comfort there — not only in him, but in the medical experts.”
The Steelers have more important returns, with wide receiver DK Metcalf and edge rusher Alex Highsmith both expected to play after being limited with injuries.
“It feels great to know I’m back,” Highsmith said. “It’s definitely been frustrating the season regarding injuries, especially last year or two. So it just feels good to be back.”
Bills Shorthanded on Offense
The Bills are trending in the opposite direction. Head coach Sean McDermott said on Friday that both starting tackles — Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown — would be unable to play against the Steelers.
While it’s not clear exactly how the Bills will reconfigure their offensive line, they have a few options. Veterans Ryan Van Demark and Alec Anderson both have extensive experience, filling in during injuries and serving as sixth offensive linemen for run-heavy schemes.
The team also activated the practice window for lineman Tylan Grable, who has been out since training camp.
McDermott said he was still confident in the team’s reserve linemen, calling them gritty and prepared to play.
“We’re going through some of the different options,” McDermott said. “Have a lot of confidence in those guys. Some of the guys are younger, some are a little bit older … What they lack in experience, they’re gonna make up for in grit, toughness and those that are playing alongside of them will help them out as well best they can.”
The game has major implications for Buffalo’s playoff hopes. They can move to greater than a 90% chance of making the playoffs with a win, but would drop to below 70% with a loss. They fell to the No. 7 spot after last week’s loss to the
Three Bucs starters set to get a well-deserved payday in 2026 without putting ink to paper
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have gotten some very good things from their 2023 draft class. Now, three of them could be set to get a very nice raise in 2026 without having to lift a finger.
Second round pick Cody Mauch, third-round pick Yaya Diaby, and fifth-round pick SirVocea Dennis are all currently within the parameters to receive a bump in their 2026 base salaries under the NFL's Proven Performance Escalator incentives parameters.
Bucs trio set to get PPE bonuses in 2026
The program increases the fourth-year salaries for non-first round draft picks who hit certain performance incentives during their first three seasons in the league. The big one is making an original ballot Pro Bowl, which triggers the highest (third level bonus). A second-level bonus comes for any player who hits 55% or more in offensive/defensive snaps in all of his first three seasons.
The first level bonus comes from hitting certain snap percentages in at least two of three seasons OR averaging that snap percentage threshold across all three seasons. For second round picks, it's 60+%. For third round picks and later, it's 35+%.
According to Over The Cap, Mauch has already locked that up, as he played in 100% of the Bucs' offensive snaps in 2023 and 99% in 2024, so he qualifies for the first level. Had he not gotten hurt, he would assuredly have reached level two. Diaby already locked his level one bump up in 2023 and 2024 based on snap percentages. Dennis was well below the 35% threshold the first two seasons, but his total percentage for all three seasons now sits at 38.4%. So as long as he doesn't get injured and miss any games the rest of this season, he should reach the 35% threshold to earn a level one bump as well.
As level one PPE incentive recipients, their salaries would increase to the amount of a 2026 original draft round tender. While that hasn't been announced yet, according to Over The Cap, the right of first refusal tender is estimated to be $3.453 million for 2026. In 2025, the original draft round tender was $3.406 million, per the NFL. The right of first refusal tender was $3.263. So, as the original draft round tender is a bit more, one could expect the 2026 amount to be in the ballpark of $3.7 million.
Mauch's 2026 base salary is set to be $1.77 million, with Diaby ($1.495 million) and Dennis ($1.145 million) coming in below that. As such, we're talking about a multimillion dollar jump in base salary for all three based on their performance on their rookie deals.
That's a nice little chunk of change as a reward for their good play. And I expect Jason Licht will work to keep all three in Tampa Bay beyond 2026 as well.
