Getty Duke Williams celebrates after catching a game-winning touchdown against the Tennessee Titans.
A fan-favorite wide receiver is back with the Buffalo Bills after a two-day hiatus.
The team announced earlier this week that they had released wide receiver Duke Williams, a one-time starter who had bounced between the practice squad and active roster for the last two seasons. The popular receiver cleared waivers and returned to the team and was placed on the injured reserve, leaving his future with the Bills less than certain.
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Williams Returns
On Monday, the Bills announced that they had waived Williams. As Nick Wojton of USA Today’s Bills Wire noted, the wide receiver had suffered an undisclosed injury and had been waived via an injury settlement.
He wasn’t gone from the team long. On Wednesday, Williams cleared waivers and was brought back to the team to be placed on injured reserve. As Buffalo Rumblings noted, Williams remains with the franchise though it’s not clear whether he could actually play for the Bills this year.
“Williams may end up on IR for the remainder of the season, especially if Buffalo sees a future for him in Western New York,” the report noted. “The team and Williams could also agree on an injury settlement which would open the door for Williams to land elsewhere, or even return to the Bills later this season.”
The 28-year-old Williams came to the team in 2019 after two strong years in the CFL, leading the league in receiving yards in 2018. Williams mostly spent time on the practice squad in Buffalo but had some highlights, including a game-winning touchdown catch against the Tennessee Titans in 2019. Williams started three of the four games he appeared in that season, catching a total of 12 passes for 166 yards.
Decisions to Make at Receiver
While the Bills may not have to worry about Williams’ roster spot while he is on injured reserve, there could be some other difficult decisions to make for receivers on the final roster. As Dan Lavoie of SB Nation’s Buffalo Rumblings noted, the team is very deep at wideout this year and will likely need to cut at least one roster-worthy player. Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley return as starters, and veteran addition Emmanuel Sanders appears to be a roster guarantee. Second-year pass-catcher Gabriel Davis and the speedy Isaiah McKenzie seem to be locks as well, leaving the Bills with some difficult decisions for the final spots.
“From there, the Bills have to decide: Do they add a sixth receiver? A seventh?” Lavoie wrote. “By all accounts, Jake Kumerow has led the pack through training camp. The 6’4” veteran has a size element the other receivers lack, and some savvy route running that helped in practice. That said, his preseason performances were underwhelming. He caught a touchdown against the Bears, but only caught two of five targets overall. Against the Detroit Lions, he didn’t have a catch.”
🚨 PUNT RETURN TD 🚨
Marquez Stevenson got the corner said BYE-BYE! 79 yards!
📺: #BUFvsCHI on @NFLNetwork (or check local listings)
📱: t.co/yP7plsAJWJ
Lavoie noted that Marquez Stevenson has turned in a strong preseason, catching a 42-yard pass to set up the game-winning field goal against the Detriot Lions and returning a punt 79 yards for a touchdown against the Chicago Bears. Stevenson could ultimately join Williams on injured reserve after suffering a foot injury.
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