The Bills made it official on Monday moving WR Marcus Easley to injured reserve in the wake of his severe knee injury suffered Sunday in the win over Dallas. Claimed off waivers to fill the void left by Easley the Bills were awarded WR Leonard Hankerson.
Hankerson (6-2, 211) was most recently with the New England Patriots, who was claimed off waivers following his release by the Atlanta Falcons. The former third-round pick of the Washington Redskins (2011) was placed on injured reserve by Atlanta in early December with a hamstring injury, but was waived a week later in an injury settlement.
He appeared in one game for the Patriots in their win over the Titans. Hankerson has battled injury problems in his short career undergoing hip surgery and ACL knee surgery since he's been in the league. His most productive season came in 2012 when he had 38 catches for 543 yards and three touchdowns.
Meanwhile Easley will be in for a long offseason rehabilitation, but head coach Rex Ryan confirmed that team doctors expect him to recover fully to return to the club for the 2016 season.
"He should be back for next season, but this is a major, major injury," said Ryan. "He dislocated his knee cap, but also broke his knee in three spots. A devastating injury there. However, they say he'll be able to come back from it. It's going to take time, but he should be fine."
Easley just signed a multi-year contract extension with the club last offseason.
