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As the Buffalo Bills trim their roster down to 53 players in advance of Saturday night's 6PM ET deadline to do so, they have reportedly moved three players off of the active roster without actually cutting them: WGR 550's Joe Buscaglia reports that quarterback Kevin Kolb, wide receiver Brad Smith and fullback Drew Smith have all been placed on Injured Reserve.
Kolb, of course, suffered a concussion last weekend at Washington, and this move was expected by many once reports surfaced that his career might be in jeopardy. The Bills signed Kolb to a two-year contract this past March, and depending on how his recovery from this latest concussion goes, we may very well see him again next summer.
Brad Smith injured his ribs in the second half of Thursday night's loss to Detroit. The injury knocked him out of the contest, and was apparently severe enough to end his 2013 campaign. Smith re-structured his contract just before training camp, and he's still under contract through the 2014 season at a significantly reduced rate - he's scheduled to make $1.4 million in base salary next year, along with $350,000 in roster and workout bonuses. His departure from the active roster paves the way for Chris Hogan and Marcus Easley to make the team, in all likelihood.
Drew Smith is an undrafted rookie free agent out of Albany that spent the summer backing up Frank Summers at fullback. He was unlikely to make the final roster, but may have been able to slide onto the practice squad had he not been injured during last night's loss to Detroit.