Bills’ Jackson Done For Season
Added on Nov 23, 2011 by Jack Thurman in
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The news goes from bad to worse for the Buffalo Bills–star running back Fred Jackson had already been ruled out of Sunday’s game against the New York Jets but the updated information from the team is that his injury is much more severe than originally thought. Jackson has been placed on season ending injury reserve with a broken bone in his lower right leg.
That news came just a few hours after Bills’ coach Chan Gailey confirmed that Jackson would miss this weekend’s game. Gailey released a statement with the updated information:
“That’s disappointing news for our team and certainly for Fred. He was having a great year. The process for Fred to return to the field would most likely take him through the end of the season, so we have made the difficult decision to place him on injured reserve.”
Obviously Jackson is disappointed but is trying to stay positive and be an asset to the team:
“It’s tough because I feel like there’s unfinished business. I left a lot out on the field. There were a lot more plays for me to make. All I can do now is be a great teammate and leader by supporting the guys on my team.”
Coach Gailey said that he expects his team to face the new development with toughness and character:
“If you’ve got a professional football team that’s in the hunt and I’ve got to go give them some kind of talk to keep them motivated, we’re in trouble. My feeling is that if you’ve got a team that is that fragile, you’re in trouble. I believe we have guys that understand about fighting through tough times and fighting through adversity.”
Still, Jackson’s teammates know that his loss will be a significant one. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick:
“It’s tough not having Fred out there on the field. We know where his heart is, and where his mind’s going to be … with us.”
Former Clemson standout CJ Spiller moves into the starting lineup but Gailey says that the team won’t be making any major changes in how they run their offense:
“You’ve got 10 other guys that have been doing things, you can’t change everything they’ve been doing, and you don’t want to. You want to let C.J. go in and do what he does best and give him an opportunity to make plays. He gets his chance now. He’s probably looking forward to it and so are we.”
The Bills are currently +9 point NFL betting underdogs to the Jets with the total on the game set at 42.
