Bills claim A.J. Klein on waivers, place Jake Kumerow on IR

The Buffalo Bills made a roster move on Wednesday afternoon, claiming veteran linebacker A.J. Klein off of waivers from the Chicago Bears. To make room for Klein on the roster, the team placed wide receiver Jake Kumerow on injured reserve.

Klein, 31, returns to Buffalo after the team chose not to re-sign him after the 2021 season. He’d played with the Bills in the 2020 and 2021 seasons as a special teams player and reserve, appearing in 31 total games and registering 110 tackles and five sacks in that time frame. He’d spent time with Baltimore and Chicago this season.

The news does not bode well for starting middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who has been battling multiple injuries for several weeks, and who left last weekend’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings early with a groin injury. He has not yet practiced this week.

Kumerow suffered a second ankle injury, also in last weekend’s loss to Minnesota, and was spotted wearing a walking boot in the locker room this season. Landing on IR means Kumerow will miss at least the team’s next four games, and that the Bills will only have four healthy receivers on their 53-man roster: Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, Isaiah McKenzie, and Khalil Shakir. McKenzie missed practice on Thursday due to illness. They also have Tanner Gentry, Isaiah Coulter, and KeeSean Johnson available for call-up from the practice squad.