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Bills tackle Seantrel Henderson finally ready to rejoin team

The Bills haven't heard from offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson this offseason (AP)
The Bills haven't heard from offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson this offseason (AP)

Players retire or fade away from the NFL, sometimes in their athletic prime, but rarely do they disappear.

The Buffalo Bills seemed to mostly lose contact with offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson this offseason, the Buffalo News reported. Weeks after offseason training started, Bills players and coaches hadn't talked to the 24-year-old tackle, who started 26 games the past two seasons. Henderson was once one of the top recruits in the 2010 high school class, played at Miami and eventually tumbled to the seventh round of the 2014 draft after multiple failed drug tests. He seemed to have his NFL career on track however, but then the Buffalo News' Tyler Dunne reported he was practically MIA.

But on Monday afternoon, Dunne said Henderson's agent informed him Henderson plans to fly to Buffalo this week and also plans to play this season.

The Buffalo News said coach Rex Ryan hasn't talked to Henderson since last season and teammates haven't heard much from him either. Ty Dunne of the Buffalo News wrote early Monday that some Bills players "aren’t sure when or if he’ll be back." Henderson's battle with Crohn’s disease is cited by Dunne as a likely reason he hasn't been heard from. 

“I can’t really recall talking to him,” Ryan said. “I think he has been in since then but I haven’t talked to him personally.”

Dunne later said that the Bills' medical staff had been in contact with Henderson.

The Buffalo News reported that Henderson had two surgeries this offseason and was having a rough recovery. Crohn's disease caused Henderson to miss the final five games last season.

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If the absence was related to Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract, the silence was a bit unusual. But now it appears Henderson is ready to rejoin the Bills.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!