Mitch Morse is on track to participate in full during the Bills’ training camp next month, but he has been sidelined to date during his recovery from multiple procedures. The veteran center had a pair of ailments addressed after playing through them during the season. 
Morse underwent elbow and ankle surgeries this offseason, as detailed by Ryan O’Halloran of the Buffalo News. The former procedure was expected, after he suffered a UCL injury in Week 2. The 31-year-old was able to continue playing without an operation given his position and he managed to suit up for 13 regular season games and both of Buffalo’s postseason contests in 2022.
“They let the UCL heal itself because I’m not throwing anything – I’m just snapping it,” Morse said. “The bone fragments from the actual hit itself – there were chips around, so they just went in there and cleaned it out.”
The former second-rounder added that his ankle injury took place during Week 12, and it did not heal as anticipated. As a result, he followed up the elbow surgery with the ankle one. Like the first procedure, Morse’s comments after the second strike an optimistic tone with respect to its effectiveness.
“I’ve rolled my ankle a thousand times and this one, it just would not go away,” he said. “It got to the point where I could play, but it didn’t go away. They went in there and found a few bone spurs and floating bodies – bone chips and cartilage – they took out and that was very nice.”
The Missouri product was cleared in full for last week’s minicamp, but he did not take part in team drills. Instead, his return to full practices will come in July, where he will look to carry on a successful 2022 campaign with a clean bill of health. Morse earned his first career Pro Bowl nod last season despite missing four games, and will he once again be a key member of the Bills’ offensive front this season.
A two-year extension signed last offseason leaves Morse under contract through 2024. Guranteed salary is only in place for the coming year, though, so a strong campaign could be highly beneficial from a financial perspective. Overall, Buffalo faces the expectation of improved play along the O-line in 2023 after adding free agent Connor McGovern and rookie O’Cyrus Torrence among others as options along the interior. Morse should play a critical role in the unit’s success, something which could be easier to attain given his healthy status heading into training camp.