Bills head coach Chan Gailey indicated that injured reserve was a possibility for Lee Evans after he sustained a severe ankle injury Sunday against the Browns. On Tuesday that option was exercised as Evans was placed on I-R.
For the first time in Evans career, he will miss a game this Sunday when the Bills play the Dolphins in Miami. Evans had appeared in 109 consecutive games and had a consecutive start streak of 71 games dating back to the 2006 season.
With his season cut short Evans will finish with career lows in catches (37) and receiving yards (578). The emergence of third-year wideout Stevie Johnson, who developed into a go-to option in the team's passing attack, also compromised Evans' numbers.
Meanwhile a very trying season has come to an end for tight end Shawn Nelson. Severe migraines the past three weeks have rendered the tight end unable to practice or concentrate on his work. As a result the Bills placed Nelson on the Reserve Non-Football Injury list Tuesday effectively ending his season.
Nelson's season got off to a rough start as he was suspended the first four games of the season for violation of the league's substance abuse policy. When he was able to practice with the team again, groin surgery set him back another two weeks.
The second-year tight end did not appear in a game until Week 7 at Baltimore when his fumble in overtime led to a difficult loss to the Ravens.
Nelson would play in the next four games before the migraines that plagued him for a month during the 2009 season returned, forcing him to miss the last three games.
The tight end will regroup in the offseason in the hopes of having a far more productive 2011.
Linemen signed
Buffalo used the two roster vacancies to address their offensive line adding guard Colin Brown and guard/tackle Erik Pears.
Brown (6'7" 335) was most recently on the Baltimore Ravens practice squad. The second-year linemen played in the UFL earlier this season appearing in five games for the Hartford Colonials.
A fifth-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009, he spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve with a calf injury.
The Bills are expected to have Brown work at the guard position.
Pears is six-year pro that was most recently with Jacksonville after he was signed in late October, but he was released by the Jaguars Nov. 8th.
Prior to that, Pears (6'8", 305) had spent the 2009 season with Oakland appearing in 12 games making four starts. He spent the first three weeks of the 2010 season with the Raiders as well before being waived in late September.
Originally an undrafted rookie signing by Denver out of Colorado State, Pears was a two-year starter at tackle for the Broncos from 2006-2007, but was not re-signed following the 2008 season, when an appendectomy landed him on injured reserve.
Most of Pears 30 career starts have come at offensive tackle, with just a handful at guard.
WR added to practice squadBuffalo also added a wide receiver to their practice squad signing free agent Bobby Williams. Williams (6'4", 215) was last with the Houston Texans serving on the club's practice squad until he was released Oct. 5.
The receiver was originally signed as an undrafted rookie by Minnesota in 2009, but has never appeared in an NFL regular season game.
To make room on the Bills practice squad for Williams the team released OL Marc Dile.
