Buffalo Bills place wide receiver John Brown on injured reserve

The Buffalo Bills announced they have placed John Brown on injured reserve.

The Buffalo Bills number one wide receiver a season ago has been dealing with injuries seemingly all year. The hope was that the bye week would help him recover and get back to full strength.

However, John Brown is going to need some more time and the Bills are placing him on injured reserve due to a high ankle sprain, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

This season has been rather quiet compared to last season when Brown finished with over 1,000 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Through eight games this year, Brown has 29 receptions, 386 receiving yards, and two touchdowns.

However, what Brown brings to this offense goes beyond his stat line. The speed he has forced defenses to play a little further off the line and open up this offense. While it is a small sample size, in the eight games Brown was active the Bills averaged 29.75 points per game while they averaged only 17 points per game in the two games he was inactive, with one of those games coming against the New York Jets.

The Buffalo Bills will now be without Brown for at least the next three games, which means the earliest he could return is in Week 15 against the Denver Broncos.

While the Bills did elevate Jake Kumerow from their practice squad, the player who will likely see the most playing time is rookie Gabriel Davis. He has been the primary player who has stepped in for the two games Brown missed earlier this season and could be a big piece of this offense over the next few weeks.

In addition to Brown going on injured reserve, the Buffalo Bills officially announced placing Cody Ford on injured reserve. The team also elevated Darron Lee from their practice squad