The Buffalo Bills are turning to an old friend for depth at wide receiver.
On Saturday, the Bills announced four roster moves. The biggest surprise among the roster moves was Buffalo signing John Brown to their practice squad.
Brown, 32, played with the Bills from 2019-2020. The veteran receiver played a big role in Josh Allen’s development over those two seasons including a career year in 2019 in which he caught 72 passes for 1,060 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games. Brown was not as effective the following season as injuries limited him to just nine games (eight starts). In his final season with Buffalo, Brown caught 33 passes for 458 yards and three touchdowns.
While it feels as though Brown has not played in the league since his stint in Buffalo, he was on multiple practice squads one year ago. The Raiders signed Brown in the 2021 offseason, but he was not able to make the team’s final roster that season. After getting cut by Las Vegas, Brown had stints on the practice squads of the Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Maybe Brown’s latest stint won’t lead to him getting elevated or signed to the 53-man roster, but it doesn’t hurt for the Bills to see what the veteran has left in the tank. The Bills have just four healthy receivers on their 53-man roster (Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, Isaiah McKenzie and Khalil Shakir) and Buffalo has already elevated Tanner Gentry to the main roster twice in the past two weeks.
One player who is likely thrilled to have Brown back in the building is quarterback Josh Allen. Buffalo’s franchise QB referred to Brown as an “all-time teammate” during their first stint together.
“He goes and attacks,” Allen said. “He is an all-time teammate, a guy that nobody can say anything bad about. Just a guy that goes in and works and wants to get better,” Allen said. “(He) doesn’t care about stats, doesn’t care about scoring touchdowns. He cares about winning, and when you have a recipe like that you’re destined for success.”
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