Buffalo Bills running back and kick returner Nyheim Hines will miss the 2023 season with a knee injury sustained in a jet ski accident, multiple outlets reported Monday.
NFL Network said that Hines was seated on a personal watercraft when he was struck by another rider. His injuries were serious but not life-threatening and he will require surgery, per the report.
Hines, 26, played mostly on special teams with Buffalo after being acquired in a Nov. 1 trade with the Indianapolis Colts. He returned the opening kickoff and a third-quarter kickoff for touchdowns against New England in Week 18 as the Bills played for the first time since Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest the previous week.
The Bills signed Hines to a two-year, $9 million contract in March that included a $1 million signing bonus and $2 million guaranteed, per Spotrac.
Buffalo traded running back Zack Moss and what became a fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to the Colts to acquire Hines.
Hines rushed six times for minus-3 yards and caught five passes for 53 yards and one touchdown in nine regular-season games for the Bills. He also averaged 29.2 yards per kickoff return and 9.6 yards per punt return after the trade.
A fourth-round pick by the Colts in 2018, Hines has accumulated 4,823 all-purpose yards with 22 touchdowns in 81 games (17 starts) for Indianapolis and Buffalo.
The Bills open training camp Wednesday at St. John Fisher University near Rochester, N.Y.
–Field Level Media
