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The Buffalo Bills were dealt a tough card late last week. Starting left tackle Dion Dawkins was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Friday.
That came as a surprise since Dawkins had already tested positive for the virus during training camp.
But then the reality of the situation settled in. What do the Bills do?
The answer ended up being Spencer Brown and despite the Bills (8-6) defeating the Carolina Panthers (5-9) 31-14 on Sunday, Brown struggled as he kicked over from right tackle to the left side.
Guarding some good pass rushers, notably the Panthers’ Brian Burns, Brown took several penalties. He was flagged for three holdings, a false start and a taunting penalty.
After, Brown wasn’t making any excuses for himself. The rookie was hard on himself.
“We can’t sit here and use the excuse of, oh, he’s at left tackle and he’s probably new to it,” Brown said via video conference. “Going into the next week if Dion is back, hopefully he is, I don’t know his situation. (But) If not I gotta go into next week and I gotta learn how to play left tackle just a little bit better and get the penalties down. Because obviously it hurts teams and kills drives. Can’t happen.”
While it’s honorable that Brown wants to take responsibility, it is true that he was in a difficult spot. Dawkins tested positive on Friday so he had to switch gears in a hurry.
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott did express he wants Brown to be better. and learn However, the coach did level with the rookie.
“He’s a good player, a young player for us,” McDermott said. “I just wanted to settle him down and remind him it was all about the team.”
“You study one side of the deal and who you may play against on this side and then all of the sudden you’re playing against maybe someone else,” McDermott added. So it’s a little bit different.”
It’s unclear how the Bills will proceed moving forward. Dawkins is known to be a vaccinated player, so once he shows one negative COVID test with no symptoms, he’s good to return to the team.
That’s clearly what the Bills are hoping for with a massive meeting with the New England Patriots en route.
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