The Buffalo Bills made a series of roster transactions to address injuries to key players, signing wide receiver Philly Brown and safeties Trae Elston and Shamarko Thomas. It comes after wide receiver Jordan Matthews and linebacker Ramon Humber suffered thumb injuries in the team’s 23-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Safety Colt Anderson also broke his forearm in the game.
Buffalo Bills Make Roster Moves Due to Ramon Humber, Jordan Matthews Injuries
Matthews and Humber have both made solid contributions over the Bills first four games. In Matthews’ case, his 16.2 yards per reception leads all Bills receivers/tight ends with a minimum of ten catches. Humber is currently the team’s runaway leader in tackles with 27 on the season. To put that in perspective, rookie Tre’Davious White is second with 17.
Two of the team’s three new signings are familiar faces to the Bills coaching staff. Brown signed via free agency on March 12th but was among final preseason cuts in early September. The Bills claimed Elston off waivers in April and contributed on special teams in the first two games of the season. He was later released on September 19th.
Thomas spent the first four seasons of his pro career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Selected in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft, he made two starts and registered 22 tackles during his rookie season. He signed a free agent deal with New York Jets this off-season but, similar to Brown above, did not make the final 53-man roster. Thomas is familiar with the western/central New York area having played collegiately at Syracuse.
All three injured players will undergo surgery. Matthews and Humber are expected to miss around a month, while the Bills placed Anderson on injured reserve. As a result of these roster moves, the team released defensive end Eric Lee and safety Robert Blanton.
The Bills are on the road for the second straight week in week five, playing the Cincinnati Bengals. The two intra-divisional AFC foes also played in Cincinnati last year, with Buffalo coming away with a 16-12 victory. The game kicks off at 1 PM ET with CBS providing television coverage.
