Foxborough, Mass. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Bills are placing star pass rusher Von Miller on Injured Reserve, which means he will miss, at least, the next four games.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane said Thursday the hope is that Miller can still return at some point this season.
“We’ve been assessing Von this week and seeing how he is, and we don’t want to rush him back," Beane said via a pool report. "This gives us a chance to go ahead and count tonight’s game and three more on Injured Reserve, and hopefully we can get him back for the stretch run.”
Beane said the decision was not a result of any change in Miller's diagnosis or the team's medical staff's view of his injury over the course of this week.
"He’s been doing treatment and trying to rehab it," he said. "We don’t want to rush him back, and he’s a competitor. That’s why we love him. That’s why he’s so great. The competitor in him – if he could wheel it out there tonight, he would do it. We just think, in talking to the medical people, that the best decision right now is to give this time, and that gives him the best opportunity to help us down the stretch.”
Miller will miss, at the very least, Thursday night's matchup with the New England Patriots, then a pair of home games against the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, and then a road matchup with the Chicago Bears on Christmas Eve.
By placing him on Injured Reserve now, the Bills can count their game against the Patriots as one of the four he has to miss. If they had waited, that wouldn't be the case.
"We’re hopeful that he can help us at the end of the season,” Beane said.
The earliest Miller will be able to return to the Buffalo lineup is for their "Monday Night Football" matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2, 2023 at Paycor Stadium.
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