The Bills made the anticipated move of rookie cornerback Ron Brooks to the injured reserve list Tuesday after undergoing foot surgery late last week. The open spot on the team's 53-man roster was used to bring back veteran WR Ruvell Martin.
Buffalo had just four receivers on their initial 53-man roster, not counting the multi-faceted Brad Smith. Bringing Martin back gives the Bills five wideouts. Martin also offers help on special teams, particularly as a gunner on the punt team, with the Bills losing Brooks who also was a gunner outside on that unit.
The reason Buffalo waited to place Brooks on injured reserve is because of the new recall rule for a player on injured reserve. Under the new guidelines an NFL club can return one player on injured reserve to the active roster later in the season (at least 42 calendar days).
However, for a player to be eligible for recall they could not be placed on I-R prior to 4 pm today (Sept. 4th). The Bills listed Brooks as their "designated to return" player meaning the club has utilized it's one and only opportunity to pull a player back off the I-R list.
Brooks won't be eligible to return to practice with the team until six weeks from now (Oct. 17th). He can't be active for a game until eight weeks from now (Oct. 31st).
