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Bills place LB Von Miller on injured reserve with knee injury

The Buffalo Bills will be without star pass rusher Von Miller for a minimum of four games after the team placed him on injured reserve before Week 13, general manager Brandon Beane announced Thursday.

"We've been assessing Von this week and seeing how he is, and we don't want to rush him back," Beane told reporters. "This gives us a chance to go ahead and count tonight's game and three more on injured reserve. And hopefully we can get him back for the stretch run."

Miller suffered a knee injury in Week 12 against the Detroit Lions and had to be carted off the field and said on his podcast this week he hoped to return by Week 14. But now, Miller won't come back until at least Week 17. The severity of the injury still isn't known, though it is clearly not an ACL injury.

This could be a huge blow to a Bills team still vying for a playoff spot. They remain in the throngs of a divisional race with the Miami Dolphins with just five weeks and four AFC East games left. When he has played, Miller has been a force with eight sacks and 12 quarterback hits. But now, the Bills will have to make do without their marquee free agent who they signed to a six-year, $120 million deal this offseason.