Vincent upset after causing Losman's leg injury

PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) -- Troy Vincent feels terrible over rookie quarterback J.P. Losman, who's out indefinitely with a broken left leg.

"All night, I tossed and turned," the Buffalo Bills veteran cornerback said Wednesday. "It's just unfortunate."

Vincent is the one who collided with Losman, causing the quarterback to break his fibula while he fell awkwardly to the ground during what is being described as a freak accident in practice on Tuesday.

Losman, the second of Buffalo's two first-round picks, is scheduled to have surgery on Thursday and expected to miss between two and three months.

And it's no consolation to Vincent that -- after watching the tape of the play over and over again -- the two barely made contact, clipping each other on the shoulder pads.

"There's nothing I could do to change it," Vincent said. "I know his importance to this football team. ... He's a fiery young guy, the sky's the limit for him. No one wants to be in a cast at this point in time in their career."

The Bills thought highly enough of the Tulane product to trade three draft picks, including a first-rounder next year, in a deal with Dallas to select Losman 22nd overall. And if the Bills were grooming Losman to eventually succeed Drew Bledsoe as the starter, that progression is now on hold.

Bills president Tom Donahoe said it's premature to discuss whether the team will bring in an additional quarterback or determine whether to end Losman's season by placing him on the injured reserve list.

Coach Mike Mularkey said he highly anticipates Losman to be back before the end of the year.

But even if Losman returns, he will have lost at least half a season of developing his skills and instincts in a practice setting.

Losman's injury comes after he's enjoyed a strong first month of training camp.

In Buffalo's two preseason games, Losman went a combined 9-of-11 for 78 yards passing, and is second on the team in rushing with 80 yards on seven carries. Losman has also engineered three scoring drives -- all ending in field goals -- in the five series he's been in.

Losman's injury leaves Bledsoe having to prove that he's capable of rebounding from the worst season of his 11-year career.

"He knows he is the guy," Donahoe said of Bledsoe. "The onus is on him, and he's responded so far to the challenge. He's played extremely well the other night. And we expect him to keep playing that way through the season."

Bledsoe went 7-of-10 for 67 yards passing in three series during Buffalo's 16-15 preseason loss to Tennessee last weekend. He's expected to get even more playing time when the Bills (1-1) play at Indianapolis this Saturday.

Besides Bledsoe, the Bills currently have two other quarterbacks on their roster. Former third-stringer Travis Brown is expected to serve as Bledsoe's backup to start this season. The third is undrafted free agent Greg Zolman, who competed in NFL Europe, playing last season with Rhein, where he backed up former Dallas quarterback Chad Hutchinson.

The Bills carried two quarterbacks -- Bledsoe and Alex Van Pelt -- for most of last season after Brown was hurt during a preseason game.

"It's disappointing, but injuries are part of football," Donahoe said. "He's disappointed like everybody is, but it's part of the game and he'll bounce back."

Quarterback coach Sam Wyche defended Vincent, saying the collision couldn't be avoided, even though teams take precautions by dressing their quarterbacks in red jerseys so they stand out from other players.

"I'm not sure if I've ever seen an injury in practice that wasn't just, boom, out of the blue," Wyche said. "Both of them tried to dodge out of each other's way, and they both went the same way.

"A red jersey would not help that."