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The Buffalo Bills have placed 28-year old NT Kyle Williams on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a foot injury. Williams played in 5 games for the Bills this year and he had 9 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 tackle for a loss. He has now played in 83 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 301 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 35 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries and 3 passes defensed.
The Buffalo Bills have signed 29-year old kicker Dave Rayner. Rayner played in 1 game earlier this year for the Raiders, but they got shut out, so all he did was kickoff. Rayner has now played in 52 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has connected on 55 of 75 field goals (73.3%). He has also made 64 of 65 extra points as he has scored 229 points so far in his NFL career. The Bills hope that Rayner does a good job while Rian Lindell is out of action.
The Bills will be without 34-year old kicker Rian Lindell for the next 4-6 weeks due to a very serious shoulder injury. Lindell has kicked in all 8 games for the Bills so far this year and he has made 12 of 15 field goals (80%). He also has connected on all 25 of his extra points this year as he has scored 64 points for the Bills so far in 2011. The Bills will likely have a dropoff at kicker after they sign a free agent to replace Lindell, who is a great cold weather kicker.
UPDATE: (12/8/2011) – The Bills have placed Rian Lindell on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season.
The Buffalo Bills have signed 28-year old Ryan Fitzpatrick to a six year contract extension worth $59 million bucks, with $24 million bucks guaranteed. Fitzpatrick has played in 6 games (all starts) for the Bills so far this year and he has completed 134 of 202 passes (66.3%) for 1,477 yards with 12 TD passes and 6 INTs (95.3 QB Rating). He has also carried the ball 17 times for 40 yards (2.4 ypc) so far in 2011. Fitzpatrick has now played in 29 games (27 starts) for the Bills in his first three years with the team and he has completed 516 of 870 passes (59.3%) for 5,899 yards with 44 TD passes and 31 INTs (81.8 QB Rating). He has also carried the ball 88 times for 450 yards (5.1 ypc) with 1 TD run so far with the Bills. The Bills are 12-15 (44.4%) in games started by Fitzpatrick. This is a big risk for the Bills as Fitzpatrick was a pretty poor QB before arriving in Buffalo.
The Bills have placed 27-year old OLB Shawne Merriman on the Injured Reserve List (ending his season) due to a Achilles injury. Merriman played in 5 games for the Bills this year and he had 9 tackles and 1 sack. The Bills took a gamble with Merriman, and they lost. This could be it for his NFL career. Merriman has played in 65 games in his 7 years in the NFL and he has 241 tackles, 44.5 sacks, 17 tackles for a loss, 8 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, 16 passes defensed and 1 interception.
The Buffalo Bills will be without 23-year old WR Donald Jones for four to six weeks due to a serious ankle injury. Jones has played in 5 games for the Bills so far this year and he has caught 16 passes for 174 yards (10.9 avg) with 1 TD grab. 23-year old Naaman Roosevelt will be counted on to step up for the Bills while Jones is out of action. Roosevelt has played in 3 games for the Bills so far this year and he has caught 6 passes for 69 yards (11.5 avg). This is Roosevelt’s big chance to prove himself.
The Bills will be without 31-year old DE Chris Kelsay indefinitely due to a strained calf muscle. Kelsay has played in all four of the Bills games so far this year and he has 7 tackles and 1 pass defensed. Look for 23-year old Danny Batten to take over Kelsay’s old starting job until he’s ready to return to action. Batten has played in all four games for the Bills so far this year and he has 7 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 fumble recovery.
The Bills have released 32-year old TE David Martin. Martin played in 3 games for the Bills this year but he didn’t catch any passes. Martin played in 19 games in two years with the Bills and he caught 7 passes for 43 yards (6.1 avg) with 1 TD grab. This isn’t much of a loss for the Bills as Martin wasn’t adding much to the offense.
The Bills will be without rookie CB Aaron Williams for a while due to an injury in his chest around the collarbone area. Williams has played in all 3 of the Bills’ games so far this year and he has 11 tackles. The Bills are giving up 271.7 yards passing per game so far, so they can’t afford to lose any DBs. The Bills hope that Williams recovers sooner than expected because they are going to need him.
The Buffalo Bills have lost starting guard Kraig Urbik for the next 2-4 weeks due to a sprained MCL. He started the first two games for the Bills this year. 26-year old Chad Rinehart will replace him in the starting lineup and he played pretty well against the Raiders last week after Urbik was injured. Rinehart has played in 10 games (7 starts) in his first four years in the NFL. The Bills have confidence that Rinehart will do a decent job while Urbik is out of action.