Bills Central

'We Love Him!': Josh Allen Welcomes Bills Signing of John ‘Smoke’ Brown

The Buffalo Bills welcome back (another) old friend in John Brown - and Josh Allen likes it.

Geoff Maggliocchetti

A Buffalo Bills' family reunion comes just after Thanksgiving, but the timing perhaps couldn't be better.

Buffalo, watching the Sunday proceedings from afar after emerging victorious in Detroit three days prior, made a series of roster moves as they prep for a crucial divisional matchup against the New England Patriots this coming Thursday (8:15 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video). Though they lost productive rookie cornerback Christian Benford to an oblique injury in the Motor City, one that required placement on injured reserve, the team was able to recall All-Pro defender Xavier Rhodes off of the practice squad.

In Rhodes' place goes receiver John Brown, one of the many architects behind the Bills' recent run of prosperity. 

While Rhodes, signed in September after spending last season with Indianapolis, previously partook in Buffalo's Week 11 win over Cleveland, Brown is back with the Bills after a nomadic two years between Las Vegas, Denver, Jacksonville, and Tampa Bay. He previously spent the 2019-20 seasons witth thhe team, earning 1,518 yards on 105 receptions, nine of which went for touchdowns. 

Nicknamed "Smoke," Brown was the team's leading receiver during the 2019 season (72 receptions, 1,060 yards, six touchdowns), a year that saw the Bills earn its first 10-win season in over two decades. Ankle woes led to Brown appearing in only eight games during the 2020 campaign and he was released by the team in the ensuing offseason. 

Count quarterback Josh Allen among those happy to see Brown back on Buffalo's actiive roster. 

"It's good to see Smoke back, it's good to have him back," quarterback Josh Allen said of Brown's return. "We love him in this locker room. We've missed him the last year. It's a veteran presence who knows our offense.

"He can still play too. I don't know really what the plan is, it's not up to me. But it's a guy I trust, I've got a lot of familiarity with, a guy that I can rely on so it's good to have him back."

In Buffalo lore, Brown is perhaps best known for Thanksgiving trickery, when he found Devin Singletary on a touchdown pass bestowed via double-reverse in the 2019 win over Dallas. That season also saw Brown, 32, pull in the winning score in a kickoff weekend comeback victory over the New York Jets, which saw the Bills erase a 16-0 deficit en route to a 17-16 final. 

Though Stefon Diggs usurped Brown as Allen's top receiving option, he's looking forward to collaborating with him again, as they did en route to the AFC title game during the 2020-21 season.

"I think he's going to be out there playing real, real soon and playing fast," Diggs said. "I feel like it adds back to our depth. We had some guys get injured, so he has to give us a little bit more firepower for those guys and outside."

If the latest developments around free agent target Odell Beckham Jr. are true, Brown may indeed be called upon to contribute to the active roster sooner rather than later.

Brown's return continues an uncanny trend where the Bills (8-3) have invited back previous developers in their recent playoff treks to help with the ongoing situation, a group that includes defenders A.J. Klein, Shaq Lawson, Dean Marlowe, and Jordan Phillips. 

The receiver, originally drafted by Arizona in 2014, mentioned that he kept in touch with position coach Chad Hall and was drawn to a Buffalo reunion because of the friendly faces on and off the field.

"The way the fans and just the whole town of Buffalo, they treat us with a whole bunch of respect," Brown said. You don't find many places like that. So to be able to come back and just to be part of it is a great thing because I watch every game. 

Since I left, I've been rooting the guys on. I still stayed in contact with a lot of people."

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags 

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Geoff Maggliocchetti
GEOFF MAGGLIOCCHETTI

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