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Anderson suffered a torn lateral meniscus against the 49ers that required two separate surgeries. Slowly rehabbing from the injury, the defensive end may just be on his way back to getting in the mix for the Bills as early as this weekend.
"He was in more today, made more progress today," head coach Chan Gailey said following Thursday's practice. "It's encouraging [for him to potentially] be ready for this week."
After going through his heaviest day of work to test the injury on Wednesday, a big hurdle to clear for Anderson's progress was how the knee reacted after a night of rest. He was happy to report his findings.
"There was no soreness, nothing out of the normal," Anderson replied. "Everything felt good."
It seems it's not a matter of 'if' any longer for the defensive end's potential return, but 'when.' Anderson made sure to note that they weren't going to rush him back on the field before he's ready.
"You've gotta be healthy, or make sure I'm at least 90-percent before I step on the field," he said. "The guys are doing great right now, and if I could help out anyway I can, I will. I'm not gonna step out and hurt the team. If I'm close to 100-percent then I will be out there helping. If not, I'll be on the sideline cheering them on."
Because of his extended absence, don't expect Anderson to supplant Kyle Moore in the starting lineup upon arrival. The Bills want to work him back in slowly.
"Well, what you try to do is, if you do play him you're gonna limit his plays," Gailey said. "If you say, 'Well gosh, when is it too long, when is it ready?' You can go back and forth on that. If [the training staff] say he's ready, I've got to go by what they say."
Anderson and the Bills have one last practice to test out the defender's knee before the team leaves for Toronto on Saturday. Buffalo takes on the Seattle Seahawks at the Rogers Centre on Sunday.
Twitter: @JoeBuscaglia