Sal Maiorana

@salmaiorana

Rex Ryan said the Bills medical staff is not clearing Sammy Watkins to practice this week.

Ryan said Marcell Dareus is "progressing nicely" but his status for Cincinnati is unknown.

At 4-5, the Bills recognize they probably have to win six of their final seven games to make the playoffs.

ORCHARD PARK – Not many coaches do it, but Rex Ryan gave the Bills the entire bye week off.

On the heels of a heartbreaking, hard-fought loss in Seattle last Monday night, the Bills were desperate for some healing time — both physically and emotionally — and Ryan decided to let them have the whole week away from football. No walk through practices, no meetings, nothing. Take the week off, he told them, and come back ready to work because there’s a lot of it to do if the 4-5 Bills hope to buck what are now very long odds and end their 16-year playoff drought.

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“We’re healthy and we’re feeling good,” Ryan said Monday afternoon. “We ought to be rolling now. We’re excited about these seven games in front of us. I’m excited about our team, this should be the healthiest we’ve been in a long time, and we should have a lot of energy and passion.”

As the Bills began preparing for what amounts to a must win game in Cincinnati — get used to hearing that term because from here on out, they’re all going to be must wins — there were some interesting developments on the practice field.

Ryan hinted at his pre-practice meeting with reporters that several players will be competing this week to keep hold of their starting jobs, and tops on the list appears to be right tackle Jordan Mills and cornerback Ronald Darby.

Ryan said Seantrel Henderson, who has not played in a game in almost a calendar year, has made obvious progress in recent weeks, and he will have a chance to supplant Mills. And at cornerback, Corey White will be getting some first-team reps to push Darby who seems to have taken a step back this year after a promising rookie season.

Also, with Eric Wood out with a broken leg, Ryan Groy and Patrick Lewis will battle it out for the chance to replace him.

“We’re going to have competition in a lot of different spots this week and give guys an opportunity to earn starting nods,” Ryan said. “We’ll let it play out. In the secondary there’ll be competition, maybe the offensive line.”

Henderson has not played since being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease last December. He played sparingly in one preseason game, then was suspended four games for a substance abuse violation and could not practice at the start of the regular season. However, over the past few weeks he has caught Ryan’s eye, and with Mills struggling — particularly last week in Seattle — Henderson may be an alternative.

“Seantrel looked outstanding last week, so we’re going to give him an opportunity and see what happens,” said Ryan. “I’m encouraged right now by the way he practiced. That was the guy that I remember (before his illness), a special athlete, so hopefully he can continue that way.”

Darby was benched against Seattle, though Ryan has said that was more because he was sick that night. Still, Darby and Stephon Gilmore have not played at the level they did last year, and Ryan is willing to see what White can do with the first team.

“At the end of the day, plays are going to be made on you,” said Darby. “It’s the NFL, they’re getting paid, too. It’s always going to be the DBs fault. At the end of the day, you just have to be able to step up and make a play.”

When Darby missed the Arizona game with an injury, White started in his place and though he wasn’t great, he did make an end zone interception in the fourth quarter and, with Carson Palmer eager to challenge him, White was in on nine tackles.

Darby isn’t the only one fighting to stay on the field in the secondary. Robert Blanton, who started the previous two games at safety in place of injured Aaron Williams, has not stood out and Duke Williams and/or Jonathan Meeks may get some time with the first team.

“We’ve got to do what’s best for our football team,” said Ryan. “Whoever’s playing best will be out there.”

That would include Percy Harvin, the newly re-signed wide receiver who came out of retirement in Seattle and played 21 no-impact snaps as he was not targeted, and had no touches. Ryan said now that Harvin has some game and practice time under his belt, his role will increase in the weeks to come.

“He played 21 snaps, hopefully that role can increase,” Ryan said. “He wasn’t able to run a full route complement; we never felt that he was really ready to do that football shape wise, but we feel better about it moving forward. Percy won’t just be a decoy for us.”

On the injury front, Ryan indicated that defensive tackle Marcell Dareus is “progressing nicely” but his availability for Cincinnati is a mystery at this point. On the down side, Ryan said the Bills’ medical staff is not clearing wide receiver Sammy Watkins for practice, even though he is eligible to start working this week.

“I just met with Sammy and he feels fantastic, but we’re going to be smart with this and we’ll do what’s best for him,” said Ryan. “Until all our medical people are on board with him coming back out there on the field, then we’re not going to practice him. When that times occurs, and hopefully that will occur soon, he’ll be back out there. He feels great so hopefully that’s a positive sign.”

Watkins is eligible to play in the Nov. 27 game against Jacksonville, but he will need to get some viable practice time in, so that may no longer be a plausible target date for his potential return from the injured reserve list.

MAIORANA@Gannett.com