ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills pass rusher Von Miller has officially been placed on the injured reserve, the team reported Thursday afternoon ahead of its divisional matchup against the New England Patriots.
The move will keep the two-time Super Bowl champion out of at least the next four games against the Patriots, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears.
He would be eligible to return Jan. 2 in Week 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals after suffering lateral meniscus damage to his knee during the Bills’ Thanksgiving Day win over the Detroit Lions.
Bills general manger Brandon Beane told a pool reporter, "We’ve been assessing Von this week and seeing how he is, and we don’t want to rush him back. 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.”
"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.”
Beane added that the team is "hopeful that he can help us at the end of the season."
Miller said on his podcast, Von Cast, that he had hoped to be ready for the Bills’ Dec. 11 game against the Jets.
