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Bills officially place Sammy Watkins on I-R

Posted at 12:45 PM, Sep 30, 2016
and last updated 2016-09-30 17:38:08-04

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins is officially out against the New England Patriots, and now the rest of the season is in jeopardy, too.

The Bills officially announced that they've placed the wide receiver on injured reserve. That means that, at least, the Bills will be without Watkins for the next eight weeks (if given the short-term designation), or at worst, the rest of the season.

The Bills conducted their final practice of the week in Orchard Park before heading out to New England for their Week Four contest, and after the fact unveiled the official injury report for the week. Although listed as "questionable" last week, the Bills removed any lingering questions this week surrounding his injury, and announced that Watkins would not play.

After practice, Rex Ryan was ominous about if it would indeed be a long-term injury for Watkins. He was then asked if the Bills had some fear that it might be. The head coach responded that fear wasn't the right word, but that there is "major concern" that it could be a long-term issue for their top wide receiver.

As it turns out, it was.

The injury stems from offseason foot surgery that Watkins had to correct the issue, and he got back on to the field by the middle of training camp. He then complained of soreness in the foot following the team's Week One loss in Baltimore, and had an MRI done. He played Week Two against the New York Jets just five days later, before sitting out of the team's Week Three contest against Arizona.

With the empty roster spot, the Bills claimed Justin Hunter off of waivers, who was just released by the Miami Dolphins this week.

Twitter: @JoeBuscaglia