Bills place WR John Brown on injured reserve

Buffalo Bills WR John Brown on injured reserve.

The Buffalo Bills made a surprise move of sorts on Saturday.

The Bills (7-3) have placed wide receiver John Brown on their injured reserve list. He will now miss a minimum of three games. Brown had already been listed as out for their upcoming game due to an ankle injury.

The team announced their new decision on Saturday, and they also officially placed offensive lineman Cody Ford on injured reserve as well. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott said this week that Ford’s season is done due to a knee injury.

Brown was injured against the Cardinals in Week 10.

So far in 2020, Brown has 29 catches for 386 yard with two touchdowns.

In corresponding moves, linebacker Darron Lee and wide receiver Jake Kumerow were called up from the practice squad. Both are expected to play roles on special teams on Sunday in Week 12 as the Bills host the Los Angeles Chargers (3-7).

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Bills vs. Chargers: 7 things to watch for and a prediction

Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers things to watch for in Week 12 and game prediction.

Fresh out of their bye week, the Buffalo Bills will return to the gridiron where they’ll meet the Los Angeles Chargers.

At 3-7, the Chargers are a bit of a misunderstood team. While a lowly record, their future seems bright. But is it bright enough to take down the Bills and their bid to add to their 7-3 win total?

With that, here are seven things to watch for an a prediction ahead of Week 12’s Bills-Chargers meeting:

Chargers vs. Bills: Final Friday injury reports

Final injury reports for the Los Angeles Chargers and Buffalo Bills ahead of Week 12.

Here are the final injury reports for the Los Angeles Chargers and the Buffalo Bills from Wednesday ahead of their Week 12 meeting at Bills Stadium:

Los Angeles Chargers (3-7)

Out

CB Casey Hayward (groin)
DE Melvin Ingram (knee)
DE Uchenna Nwosu (chest/ shoulder)

Doubtful

N/A

Questionable

RB Kalen Ballage (ankle/ calf)

Will play

RT Bryan Bulaga (knee)

Notes:

Hayward and Ingram are starters on the Chargers defense. … Ballage was filling in for injured RB Austin Ekeler, who is still on the Chargers injured reserve.

Buffalo Bills (7-3)

Out

WR John Brown (ankle)
OL Cody Ford (ankle/ knee)

Doubtful

N/A

Questionable

N/A

Will play

DE AJ Epenesa (concussion)
DE Jerry Hughes (back)
RB Taiwan Jones (hamstring)
TE Dawson Knox (hamstring)

Notes:

Ford’s season is done, per Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott.

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What could the Bills offensive line look like without Cody Ford?

Buffalo Bills offensive line options without Cody Ford.

The Bills will no longer have the services of offensive lineman Cody Ford this season. On Friday, Bills head coach Sean McDermott announced that Ford’s season is done and reportedly it’s due to a meniscus injury.

Buffalo (7-3) has had some time already this year without Ford as he’s dealt with ankle and other knee issues in 2020. But now that Ford won’t be playing for the foreseeable future, who will?

In terms of replacing Ford, the Bills have a few directions they can go in. But one thing that’s for sure, the outside of the line will remain the same as Dion Dawkins and Daryl Williams will stick at left tackle and right tackle, respectively. According to Pro Football Focus, both Dawkins (79.1 grade) and Williams (78.1) have had strong years so far. Williams does have an ability to play guard, but if tackle isn’t broke, don’t fix it. Leave him there.

In the middle, we already know, and rightfully so, that Mitch Morse will be at center. McDermott announced on Friday that Morse will start at center, and now considering Ford’s injury, it’s the smartest move to make.

Now, the guard spots. The key cog here is Jon Feliciano. He’s going to get out there for the Bills, but where? This decision probably comes down to Ike Boettger vs. Brian Winters.

If the choice is Boettger, Feliciano goes to right guard and Boettger is on the left. On the flip side, Feliciano can hit the left side and Winters can go at right guard.

In the Bills’ last two games, both Boettger and Winters started. Prior to that, only Winters started in Week 7 against the Jets. Boettger played most of the game only after injury occurred. That sign could point to the coaching staff having more faith in Winters over Boettger.

But of course, let us now count on the fancy stats.

Without hard, concrete numbers to just offensive linemen on like we have for a wide receiver or quarterback, we’ll look to what the analytics say on the matter.

Per PFF, Boettger would be the better choice to play despite his lack of experience in comparison to Winters. PFF has graded Boettger a 72.0 overall mark so far this season, which is good for the 16th best grade to any guard in the NFL. Winters currently sits at 58.2.

From left to right, the analytics play for the Bills’ offensive line could be Dawkins, Boettger, Morse, Feliciano and Williams. But signs could be pointing toward the coaching staff wanting the more experienced Winters in the lineup. Boettger has appeared in just 12 games in his career and only has made two starts, both this season. Winters has appeared in 99 games ad started 87 of those.

As of right now we won’t have a clue as to which route the team will go. But, we do know when quarterback Josh Allen leads Buffalo’s offense onto the field for the first time this weekend, we’ll get the answer to this question.

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Mitch Morse to start at center for Bills vs. Chargers

Buffalo Bills OL Mitch Morse is starting vs. the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 12.

Mitch Morse will be back in the fold for the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Bills (7-3) head coach Sean McDermott told WGR-550 radio on Friday that the team’s plan is to put Morse at center against the Los Angeles Chargers (3-7) in Week 12.

Questions have surrounded Morse’s status on the team after he suffered a concussion in Week 8 against the Patriots.

First the conversation was about Morse’s well-being because it was the fifth time in his NFL career that he sustained a concussion. Morse went on to miss just one game against the Seahawks in Week 9 due to the injury.

But then the situation did a near 180 degree turn… From understanding why Morse wasn’t playing to why isn’t he? In Week 10 against the Cardinals, Morse, the second-highest paid center in the NFL, was active, but did not play. He spent the entire game on the sideline.

At the time, McDermott confirmed it was a football decision and said it did not have to do with his concussion. It was a curious situation, but it appears that the latest turn is that Morse will be playing against the Bolts.

Also adding to the question in regard to why Morse wasn’t playing was that he didn’t appear to be having a bad season. Morse has never been a world beater, but even in terms of his Pro Football Focus grades, he’s a solid player. PFF grades him 65.8 overall so far this year, near the middle of the NFL.

In addition to Morse, McDermott also announced that Cody Ford’s season is over due to injury as well on Friday. Perhaps that played a part in the team’s decision on Morse, but that’s something we’ll never know. All we do know is that Morse will be snapping the ball to quarterback Josh Allen on Sunday.

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PODCAST: Game-by-game predictions for Bills’ final six outings

Buffalo Bills podcast ahead of Week 12 for Buffalo Bills via Bills Wire.

Bills Wire managing editor Nick Wojton joins podcast network host Ryan O’Leary (@RyanOLearySMG on Twitter) to discuss the Bills’ bye week and what went right for them despite not playing.

Coming out of their weekend off, the Bills have six games left. This week’s episode will go game-by-game and discussion Buffalo’s remaining schedule, while also going in-depth on Los Angeles Chargers rookie QB Justin Herbert, who faces the Bills in Week 12.

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Bills OL Cody Ford done for season

Cody Ford will not play for Buffalo Bills again this season.

Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott announced that second-year offensive lineman Cody Ford is done for the season.

According to McDermott, Ford suffered an injury in practice this week which will keep him out for both the remainder of the regular season and playoffs. McDermott announced the news on his weekly Friday appearance on WGR-550 radio.

Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Ford suffered a torn meniscus. During the season, Ford dealt with both knee and ankle injuries.

With Ford out, that means the Bills will not play a single game in 2020 with their projected starting offensive line. Throughout the year, several players have gone done with various injuries and aliments, starting with guard Jon Feliciano, who tore his pectoral muscle during the offseason.

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Chargers vs. Bills: Wednesday injury report

Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills Wednesday injury report ahead of Week 12.

Here are the first full injury reports for the Los Angeles Chargers and the Buffalo Bills from Wednesday ahead of their Week 12 meeting at Bills Stadium:

Los Angeles Chargers (3-7)

Did not practice

DE Uchenna Nwosu (shoulder)
CB Casey Hayward (groin)
DE Melvin Ingram III (knee)

Limited

RB Kalen Ballage (ankle/ calf)

Full practice

OL Bryan Bulaga (knee)

Notes:

Haywayd, the Bolts’ starting cornerback, was injured in Week 11 vs. the Jets. … Eleker is designated to return but remains on the Chargers’ IR, he practiced for the first time since he was injured in Week 4.

Buffalo Bills (7-3)

Did not practice

WR John Brown (ankle)

Limited

OL Cody Ford (ankle)
QB Jake Fromm (quarantine)
DE Jerry Hughes (back)

Full practice

DE AJ Epenesa (concussion)
RB Taiwan Jones (hamstring)
TE Dawson Knox (hamstring)

Notes:

Epenesa was limited during Tuesday’s practice. … Brown suffered his injury the game before the bye week vs. Cardinals. … Ford did not play in Week 10. … Hughes’ back injury was not related to a veteran rest day.

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Chargers RB Austin Ekeler will practice Wednesday ahead of Bills meeting

Los Angeles Chargers RB Austin Ekeler might return vs. Buffalo Bills.

Ahead of facing the Buffalo Bills, the Los Angeles Chargers might be getting some reinforcement in their backfield.

Starting running back Austin Ekeler has been designated for return from the Chargers’ (3-7) injured reserve list. He’s been out since Week 4 due to a hamstring injury.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles head coach Anthony Lynn confirmed via video conference that Ekeler will practice with the team. Ekeler started the 2020 season as the Chargers’ starting running back before injury.

While Ekeler, who is averaging 5.1 yards per carry, will practice, that does not mean he will play against the Bills (7-3) in Week 12. Certainly it depends on how he feels throughout practice this week.

“I’m not going to say he’s going to play, but he’s going to work himself back into practice today,” Lynn said.

If Ekeler is well enough, the Bolts can activate him fully from their injured reserve list and he can play vs. the Bills. But “designating a player to return” does not mean the player must be activated immediately. From the point of designating a player to return, a team has 21 days to place him on their 53-man roster before he’s automatically reverted back to injured reserve for the rest of the season.

Like Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott nearly always keeping his hand close to his chest in terms of giving away any intel to opponents, he does it for a reason. A lot of teams and coaches do that, and one could expect the Chargers to probably do the same this week. They’ll have until Saturday to activate Ekeler if he’s going to play on Sunday.

Earlier on Wednesday via ESPN, Ekeler said yes, he’s excited to get back out on the field, but he has been advised not to rush back from the hamstring issue.

“Even the trainers said you don’t want to come back from this early because you’ll re-injure it and have to go back. So I’m checking all the boxes,” Ekeler said.

“I’m optimistic because of how my training has gone,” he added. “I just want to get back out there and help the team.”

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8 storylines to watch for during Bills vs. Chargers

Storylines to following during Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers Week 12 meeting this week.

It’s Wednesday so the Buffalo Bills are now turning their attention to their next opponent. After a weekend off thanks to their bye, the Los Angeles Chargers (3-7) will head to Bills Stadium in Week 12.

Here are eight storylines to follow as the Bills are set to face the Bolts: