The Buffalo Bills have signed shifty speedster Victor Bolden, Jr. off the San Francisco 49ers practice squad. The move is in response to the injury to running back Marcus Murphy, who was placed on injured reserve with his dislocated elbow.
Bolden was an undrafted free agent in 2017 but burst onto the scene in the preseason, returning two kickoffs for touchdowns. He made the opening-day roster, serving as their main returner for the first nine games before landing on Injured Reserve. This season, he played in four games for the 49ers and spent the rest of the time on the practice squad, where the Bills found him. He has one reception for ten yards in his NFL career, but 19 kick returns and four punt returns.
The move means that Buffalo has seven wide receivers on their roster now, but six of them are in their first or second years in the league. (Deonte Thompson is the other.) Isaiah McKenzie might lose some special-teams snaps to Bolden while it also further solidifies the question marks surrounding Ray-Ray McCloud’s future.
It ends the season for Murphy, who was hurt in a game he hoped would be his showcase against the Detroit Lions. It bodes well for the return of LeSean McCoy or Chris Ivory this week, as Keith Ford finished the game against Detroit as the only healthy running back.