C.J. Spiller Says He May Be Back This Week After All

C.J. Spiller looked like he might be out for several week as he was being carted off the field in the Bills 24-14 win over the Cleveland Browns in obvious pain after landing hard on his right shoulder.

It turns out he may not even miss a week.

The Buffalo News is reporting that the NFL’s leader in total yards may be back in time for next week’s AFC East showdown with the New England Patriots.

“Maybe not as bad as originally thought,” Bills Head Coach Chan Gailey said. “[We’re] not going to completely rule him out this week, but you know, I think it’s more of a chance that he won’t than he will [play Sunday against New England].”

Gailey said it’s more likely that C.J. Spiller will be back in time for the Bills two-week West Coast road trip that starts after the New England game.

“I think there’s a good possibility for the second week, for whoever we play after this week,” he said. “We go to San Francisco? … He’s got a good chance to be back for that one.”

As NFL.com notes, shoulder injuries rarely end well, but Spiller was able to avoid major injuries.

The third-year running back noted that he got a good night of sleep on Sunday and woke up Monday feeling much better, with a greater range of motion than he expected.

While the uncertainty of C.J. Spiller’s return makes for a difficult situation for fantasy football owners of Spiller, Bills fans at least have some other good news. The team’s other star running back, Fred Jackson, said his recovery from a knee injury has come along much better than expected and he now says he is “70 to 75 percent” sure he will play on Sunday.