Getty Isaiah Hodgins makes a catch during warmup before a Buffalo Bills preseason game.
After missing much of his first two seasons in the NFL to a series of injuries, Isaiah Hodgins will finally get a chance to show the Buffalo Bills what he can do on the field.
The 2020 sixth-round draft pick missed the entirety of his rookie season and appeared in just one game last season, making no catches in a December 26 win over the New England Patriots. But a spate of injuries to the wide receiving corps has handed the practice squad player an opportunity to make the active roster, and potentially see some meaningful snaps in Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Bills Sign Hodgins
The Bills announced on Saturday that they had signed Hodgins to the 53-man roster even though they could have used a practice squad elevation on him, a potential sign that Hodgins could be filling in for longer than just Sunday’s game against the Steelers.
-Signed to the 53-man roster: WR Isaiah Hodgins & DB Ja’Marcus Ingram
-Elevated WR Tanner Gentry & LB Joe Giles-Harris from the practice squad
-Placed WR Jamison Crowder on the Injured Reserve list
-Released DT Brandin Bryant
Though he spent most of his first season on injured reserve and was on the practice squad for all but one game last season, Hodgins became a favorite of Bills fans for the potential he showed off in the preseason. The 23-year-old was a top performer for the Bills during the preseason, making 16 total catches for 124 yards through three games.
While signing Hodgins to the active roster, the Bills also elevated wide receiver Tanner Gentry from the practice squad.
Bills Dealing With Injuries
The moves to sign Hodgins and elevate Gentry come as the Bills have endured a number of injuries to their pass catchers. Veteran slot receiver Jamison Crowder was placed on injured reserve after breaking an ankle in Sunday’s win over the Baltimore Ravens, and fellow slot receiver Isaiah McKenzie is questionable after suffering a head injury. Jake Kumerow, who had been primarily a special teams player before taking on a bigger role in the offense this season, has also missed time with an ankle injury.
We’ve signed WR Isaiah Hodgins and DB Ja’Marcus Ingram.
Even those still playing are hampered by injuries. Deep threat Gabe Davis has been playing through an ankle injury that has impacted his play.
The Bills have lost a number of players on the other side of the ball as well, with All-Pro safety Micah Hyde suffering a season-ending neck injury and several other starters missing time. The situation became so dire that Bills head coach Sean McDermott said the team had a hard time making it through a practice with enough bodies.
“We’re hanging right on that edge just to have a quality practice today,” McDermott said, via the Democrat & Chronicle. “We’ll try and monitor it as we go, but if we lose a guy or two during practice, then we’re going to have to make a big-time adjustment there.”
The Bills made some other moves to bolster their receiving corps. After releasing veteran Tavon Austin from the practice squad after an apparent disagreement over his role with the team, the Bills signed undrafted rookie free agent Jaquarii Roberson. He had originally signed with the Dallas Cowboys but most recently spent time on the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad before being released earlier this week.