Buffalo Bills rookie linebacker Reggie Ragland will miss the upcoming NFL season due to a torn ACL.
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In unfortunate news for the Buffalo Bills, their rookie linebacker Reggie Ragland is expected to miss the upcoming NFL season, according to ESPN. Ragland will undergo surgery for the torn ACL and marks the team’s second rookie to be sidelined due to injury ahead of the season.
Ragland’s injury happened during a practice session just last Friday as he was chasing running back Reggie Bush. At first, it was thought that Ragland may have avoided any serious ligament damage, but continued swelling of the left knee and test results proved otherwise.
Ragland, a product of the Alabama Crimson Tide, was the Bills’ No. 41 selection in April’s 2016 NFL Draft. The team traded up in order to make the pick showing how highly they regarded his talents. In addition to Ragland, their first round pick, Shaq Lawson, had shoulder surgery in May. Lawson is not expected to be back with the team until October at the earliest.
There were high hopes for the three rookies that Buffalo had drafted for their defense, as team general manager Dough Whaley had indicated all three would start. Now two of those players are sidelined with third-round pick Adolphus Washington the only one who active in practice now.
The good news for Buffalo is that they recently added two veteran linebackers to the team with Brandon Spikes and David Hawthorne. This should give Buffalo a bit of breathing room as they prepare for the upcoming season and try to outdo their 8-8 record of the previous campaign.