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UPDATE: The Buffalo Bills have made it official, sending out a press release which “announced that LB Reggie Ragland will have surgery for a torn ACL and he is expected to miss the season.”
We now know more definitive details on the injury prognosis for Buffalo Bills linebacker Reggie Ragland, and they aren’t great.
Ian Rapoport set out a trio of tweets, explaining what’s ahead for the rookie:
#Bills LB Reggie Ragland is set for surgery later this week on his partially torn ACL, per source. The knee is believed to have other damage
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 10, 2016
During Reggie Ragland's surgery, he'll learn whether his season is over or if it's a 6-8 week recovery. Either way, he'll miss serious time.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 10, 2016
Based on the initial tests, #Bills LB Reggie Ragland expected to land on IR. A caveat: Last year Kiko Alonso had a similar injury & returned
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 10, 2016
Rapoport’s second and, especially his final tweet leave a tiny glimmer of hope that Ragland could return this season.
Even if he is placed on season-ending IR, the Bills can eventually opt to bring him back in-season, based a new rule put in place this year that states teams no longer have to designate the “returning IR” player ahead of time.
However, it sounds like Buffalo will be without the player it moved up to select in Round 2 of the 2016 draft, someone who was expected to take on a major role in Rex Ryan’s defense right away.