Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Jon Feliciano will miss a chunk of the upcoming 2020 season. The team’s starting right guard from 2019 suffered a pectoral injury which could require up to three months or more to heal.
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane have continuously harped on the importance of continuity on their roster. After re-signing Quinton Spain earlier this offseason, the Bills were slated to return all five of their starters on the O-line in 2020.
With Feliciano’s injury, that will no longer be the case for Buffalo, and there will be a ripple-effect for the Bills because of it.
With that, here are six takeaways from Feliciano’s injury:
How big of a loss?
We know Feliciano is a loss for the Bills, but let’s try to put into context exactly how big of a loss he is. As mentioned, he was a starter for the Bills in his first season with the team in 2019. At right guard, Feliciano was the No. 1 in every game for Buffalo, playing in about 89 percent of snaps.
Already stated was that continuity the Bills had along the offensive line. From last season, things were not going to change in terms of starters along the O-line, most likely, until now. From left to right, the Bills’ line was going to look, once again, like: Dion Dawkins, Spain, Mitch Morse, Feliciano and Cody Ford.
And speaking of Spain, many touted his addition Buffalo’s line a year ago. Just to put things into picture of how big of a loss Feliciano might be, he was actually… better than Spain, in at least one sense. Pro Football Focus is subjective, but per their numbers, Feliciano was the better 2019 lineman. At the end of last season, Spain ranked as their 58th best guard in the NFL while Feliciano was at No. 35 via PFF’s grade.