Bills Rookie Linebacker Reggie Ragland Out For Season With Torn ACL

(photo credit: buffalobills.com)

Buffalo Bills rookie linebacker Reggie Ragland will require season-ending surgery to repair a torn ACL, the team announced on Wednesday. Buffalo has lost their second-round pick, and they will also not have first-round pick Shaq Lawson for the first six weeks of the regular season, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Ragland was injured on a non-contact play at the end of practice on Friday, but the team waited for Ragland’s knee to stop swelling before they had a clear idea about his injury. 

The team prepared for the worst on Saturday, when they signed veteran linebackers Brandon Spikes and Brandon Hawthorne to provide depth for a Bills defense that finished 19^th in total defense last year. Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan is still confident in the team that he has. “Well, it would be a blow, but hopefully, you know, everything will be fine,” Ryan said on Saturday. “If that’s the hand that’s dealt, then we’ll adjust to it. We’re fortunate, we picked up Zach Brown in the offseason, you know, so we’re fortunate there. Randell Johnson’s done a nice job for us also. And we’ll see, we’ll evaluate things as it goes.” 

Ragland was expected to start right away, but now that Ragland is expected to be out for the season, it is expected that Brown will fill the void left by Ragland. The team believes that Ragland suffered more damage in his knee, but they will wait until the surgery is completed before they make any further statements about Ragland’s injury. Miami Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso, who was with the Philadelphia Eagles last year, had a similar surgery that Ragland is having, and Alonso was able to return to play later in the season. 

Ragland is expected to be out a minimum of 6-8 weeks, but that’s if everything goes way ahead of schedule. The 6’1” 247-pound linebacker was selected by the Bills with the 41^st pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Ragland played collegiately at Alabama, where he won two national titles, and he took home SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2015. Ragland racked up 220 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, and 4.0 sacks in four seasons with the Crimson Tide.