Bills Place LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles On IR

The Bills announced on Thursday that Flannigan-Fowles has been placed on injured reserve. Players moved to IR at this point of the offseason are out for the season. In a corresponding move, Buffalo has brought back linebacker Otis Reese.

Flannigan-Fowles spent his first five seasons with the 49ers. The former UDFA totaled seven starts over that span, but he primarily contributed on special teams. His largest defensive snap share was seen last year as a member of the Giants (36%).

A backup/special teams role was a distinct possibility for Flannigan-Fowles in Buffalo this season. Instead, the 29-year-old’s attention will now turn to recovery. The Bills will move forward with a linebacker depth chart led by Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams; Joe Andreessen is still in the fold, while Buffalo added Kaleb Elarms-Orr during the fourth round of the draft. That group will be joined by Reese, who made 20 appearances with the Titans from 2023-24 but saw time on the Bills’ practice squad last season.

The Bills entered Thursday with $9.68MM in cap space. That places Buffalo near the bottom of the NFL in terms of spending power late in the offseason. As Reese returns to the fold, he will look to replace Flannigan-Fowles as a potential end-of-the-roster candidate. If another linebacker addition is to be sought out, though, the team will have the opportunity to make a low-cost addition.