The Buffalo Bills have announced that kicker Rian Lindell has been placed on Injured Reserve, bringing an end to his 2011 campaign.
Lindell - who is reportedly on the Bills' short list of impending free agents to re-sign (or at least was prior to his injury) - was hurt making a tackle in a Week 9 loss to the New York Jets. Since then, he has missed four games and, after returning to the practice field late last week, was not deemed healthy enough to tackle for the remainder of the year. Barring a contract extension, he may have played his last game in Buffalo. He'll turn 35 years old in January.
Dave Rayner will finish the season as Buffalo's kicker. In four games filling in for Lindell, Rayner has connected on 4-of-5 field goals, including makes from 53 and 56 yards against the Jets and Miami Dolphins, respectively. His contract situation is unclear, but it's highly unlikely that he's locked up past the end of this season, as well.