Bills place TE Zach Davidson on injured reserve

On Wednesday, the Buffalo Bills placed Zach Davidson on the injured reserve (IR) with an undisclosed injury — a move that ends the season for the third year tight end who has yet to make it onto an active NFL roster.

Davidson was a 2021 fifth-round pick for the Minnesota Vikings, but never made their active roster, instead finding a spot on the Vikings’ practice squad. After getting waived last year, Davidson found a home on the Bills’ practice squad for 2022 and then signed a reserve/futures contract with Buffalo in January of this year.

Davidson was going to be in a position battle with Dawson Knox, newly drafted Dalton Kincaid, Quintin Morris, and Joel Wilson. While, barring an injury, Knox and Kincaid should be the tight ends on the Bills’ game-day roster, Davidson may have been able to stick around on the practice squad.

However, with the IR designation coming before the first day of the 2023 season, Davidson now isn’t eligible to play at all this season — at least not in Buffalo. The only exception to the rule would be if Bills should release the tight end with an injury settlement and he were to sign with another team.

The move also means that Buffalo has only 89 players on their roster, making room for one more to be added before training camp begins in late July.