C.J. Spiller Placed On IR; Could Be Back At End
By Dennis Amo
Oct 19, 2014; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills running back
C.J. Spiller(28) is injured and taken out on a cart during the first half against the Minnesota Vikings at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
C. J. Spiller suffered a broken collarbone in last weeks game against the Minnesota Vikings. The Bills ended up winning the game, but did lose both their starting running backs in the process. Fred Jackson is out for about 4 weeks and should return after recovering from a groin injury.
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C.J. Spiller was as lucky. The Buffalo Bills have placed Spiller on Injury Reserve – Designated to return. This is a short term Injury Reserve and means that Spiller may not be out for the entire season.
Injury Reserve – Designated to return states this…
"A player who has been designated for return is ineligible to practice until six weeks have elapsed since the date he was placed on Reserve, and is not eligible to return to the Active/Inactive List until eight weeks have elapsed since the date he was placed on Reserve. The business day (prior to 4:00 p.m., New York time) that the player is placed on Reserve counts as the first day."
What this means for the Buffalo Bills and C.J. Spiller is that he is able to come back. He has to wait 6 weeks before he can even begin to practice with the team which has a start date of Dec. 3rd. After he begins practice he is unable to participate in a game, barring any issues with his recovery, until Dec. 16th. This means that Spiller will be available for the Bills starting Week 16 and could play against the Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots to end the season.
This is a good move by the Bills because, it leaves them the option to bring Spiller back if they are in the playoff race or even playoff bound. Having Spiller late in the year could spell the other backs, or fill in if they have injuries as well and also he may just provide a spark for the team.