The Buffalo Bills appear to have dodged a big-time bullet regarding linebacker Terrel Bernard.

Coach Sean McDermott confirmed Friday afternoon that the Bills’ leading tackler in 2023 suffered a strain of his pectoral muscle and not a tear, and the timeline for recovery could have Bernard back on the field in about a month.

When Bernard went down in the first quarter of Thursday’s 31-10 victory over the Miami Dolphins, the fear - once it was revealed as a pectoral injury - was that it was torn and that would mean an extended period on the injured reserve.

Instead, McDermott acknowledged it would be “multiple weeks” which is much better than multiple months, or perhaps season ending.

There was also good news on nickel cornerback Taron Johnson. When the Bills made their roster designations before the game, they did not move Johnson to the IR, and that seems to be an indication that they believe he can return from his forearm injury inside the minimum four-week window that IR would have required.

"We're hoping it's a good thing we deemed it not necessary to put him on IR," McDermott said.

Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, and he has written numerous books about the history of the team. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana. https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Terrel Bernard injury update: Linebacker has pectoral strain, not tear