Advertisement

Bills passing game takes a huge hit with Sammy Watkins to IR

Sammy Watkins is headed to injured reserve, the Bills said (AP)
Sammy Watkins is headed to injured reserve, the Bills said (AP)

Apparently, Rex Ryan wasn’t exaggerating when he said the Buffalo Bills had “major concerns” about Watkins’ foot injury.

Watkins was placed on injured reserve, according to the team. That means Watkins will miss the next eight weeks, at least. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said there’s no surgery scheduled for Watkins’ injured foot at the moment, just rest.

[Play our $200K Baller | Free Yahoo Cup entry | Earn rewards points playing Daily]

Losing Watkins is a huge blow. The Bills don’t have a lot of options at receiver other than Watkins, who scored nine touchdowns last season. The Bills are last in the NFL with just 163.7 passing yards per game. Watkins had just 63 yards in the first three games, struggling to get through two games before missing last week. With Watkins a shell of himself the first two games this season, the Bills generated very little through the air. Buffalo simply doesn’t have anyone else in the passing game who defenses have to worry about.

The Bills fired offensive coordinator Greg Roman after two weeks. The offensive struggles seemed to be related to Watkins’ issues as much as any play calls. Now the Bills will definitely be without Watkins for eight games. It’s hard to see how their offense improves much without him.

More Bills coverage from Yahoo

– – – – – – –

Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!