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Buffalo Bills: Fred Jackson Returns to Practice, Harvin and Williams Will be Ready for Week 1

By Chris Okrainetz

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Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson returned to practice Saturday, while head coach Rex Ryan made headlines when he said that Percy Harvin and Karlos Williams will be ready for Week 1.

The Buffalo Bills are slowly seeing their skill position players return.

After playing Thursday night’s preseason game against the Cleveland Browns without their top five running backs and top six wide receivers, the Bills got Fred Jackson, Robert Woods and Sammy Watkins back on the practice field Saturday.

The injuries to Watkins and Woods were never considered to be serious, but if you were wondering how Sammy was feeling, I’d say he looks just fine.

While the Bills’ perimeter got a much-needed boost, so did their backfield, where veteran running back Fred Jackson also returned to the practice field on Saturday.

We’ve all heard of Jackson’s unbelievable healing powers, so it isn’t a complete surprise to see him back on the field.

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“It was the plan all along, to get out here this week, see if I could push around on it,” Jackson told Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News. “Felt good out there.”

Having been out since injuring his hamstring on August 7, barring any setbacks, Jackson expects to play in next Saturday’s preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Considering the Bills started sixth-string running back Bronson Hill on Thursday night, the return of Jackson would jumpstart a Bills’ backfield that is in dire need of a boost.

Head coach Rex Ryan said he was pleasantly surprised with Jackson’s work load on Saturday.

“He looked pretty good,” Ryan said. “I was happy to see him. He was doing more than I thought he was going to do. I was kidding him the other day – his twin brother was out here, and they’re identical twins – ‘you know what, Fred can’t play, but you can play.’ We were thinking about doing that.

“But he’s catching kicks, he’s doing everything, so I was really happy to see that.”

May 26, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Percy Harvin (18) during the organized team activities at the ADPRO Sports Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Even with the return of Jackson, Watkins, and Woods, the Bills are still without running backs LeSean McCoy, Bryce Brown, Karlos Williams and Anthony Dixon, as well as wide receivers Chris Hogan and Percy Harvin.

Ryan did not touch on the status of every injured player, but the Bills’ head coach did say that he expects both wide receiver Percy Harvin and running back Karlos Williams to be ready for the team’s season-opener on September 13 against the Indianapolis Colts.

Harvin has been out for just over a week now with a sore hip, which required him to get a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection last week.

“He’ll definitely be back for the opener,” Ryan said to ESPN‘s Mike Rodak. “We’re hoping that he comes back and is able to play in one of these preseason games.”

As for Williams, Ryan said that “he looked like Fred Sanford walking into a meeting today,” but will also be ready to go come Week 1.

The Bills have had terrible luck with injuries this summer, so hopefully the return of Jackson, Watkins and Woods marks a change in their luck.

Next: Buffalo Bills' WR Chris Hogan to Miss 2-4 Weeks

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