Bills elevate RB Leonard Fournette for Saturday night game vs. Chargers

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Veteran running back Leonard Fournette has been activated for his Bills debut Saturday night in Los Angeles.

The 28-year-old Fournette signed to the Bills’ practice squad on Oct. 31 will receive his first of three allotted regular season game elevations with running back Ty Johnson inactive against the Chargers due to a shoulder injury.

Safety Micah Hyde, defensive end A.J. Epenesa, and offensive linemen Germain Ifedi and Alec Anderson also are inactive for the Bills. With Hyde miss his second game in a row, Damar Hamlin is active for the fifth time this season.

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Defensive tackle DaQuan Jones and cornerback Kaiir Elam were not activated from injured reserve after practicing this week, and being listed as questionable to play.

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Fournette joins a Buffalo backfield led by the AFC’s offensive player of the week James Cook, who ranks second in the NFL with 968 yards rushing, and veteran Latavius Murray, a consistent presence in the Bills’ huddle this season.

Starting nine of 16 games played with the Buccaneers last season, Fournette ran for 668 yards and three touchdowns. Drafted out of LSU with the fourth pick by the Jaguars in 2017, he has 4,478 yards rushing, 2,219 yards receiving, and 41 touchdowns in six NFL seasons.

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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.

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