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Buffalo Bills place Sammy Watkins on injured reserve

By Patrick Schmidt

Sep 15, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins (14) before the game against the New York Jets at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 15, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills wide receiver Sammy Watkins (14) before the game against the New York Jets at New Era Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Buffalo Bills placed Sammy Watkins on injured reserve as the former first round pick deals with his latest injury setback.

The injury-plagued career of former first round pick Sammy Watkins continued on Friday with the Buffalo Bills placing him on injured reserve.

The former No. 4 overall pick has been hampered by nagging injuries throughout his career which has stunted his development and will miss at least eight games with a foot injury. There was some hope that Watkins would return in time to suit up this week, but clearly, the injury was far more serious than he or the Bills hoped.

Watkins has been limited to only six receptions for 63 yards and has yet to score a touchdown over two games this year. That is not the type of production the Bills envisioned when they traded up to take the former Clemson All-American three years ago.

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The foot injury to Watkins isn’t being considered a season-ending injury right now. He will be eligible to return in eight weeks and depending on the Bills record, could use him to make a push for a playoff spot in a loaded AFC.

Even if the Bills are out of the playoff picture in the last quarter of the season and Watkins is fully healthy, the team needs him on the field to evaluate their prospect whose shine has been diminished.

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Watkins has one more year left on his rookie contract and likely would have been in line for a lucrative contract extension with a healthy and productive season this year. That won’t happen now and Watkins is likely to enter the 2017 season playing without any long-term security. He won’t be happy about that, but the Bills aren’t happy about the former No. 4 pick being unavailable for so long.

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