Ragland, a second-round pick out of Alabama, injured himself in practice last Friday.
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“In a team statement released Wednesday morning the Buffalo Bills announced that Ragland suffered a torn ACL that will require surgery and that he’s expected to miss the entire 2016 season”, the team’s official website reported. The injury dealt another tough blow to a team that already lost first round pick Shaq Lawson for a significant period of time. In the meantime, the Bills have given IK Enemkpali reps with the first-team defense opposite Jerry Hughes at outside linebacker.
That either made the Bills the most proactive team in National Football League history or the realization that Ragland wasn’t going to be around anytime soon has permeated through St. John Fisher College. Lawson’s backup, veteran Manny Lawson, is also hurt. He will compete with Zach Brown, David Hawthorne and Randell Johnson to fill Ragland’s void.
Despite the injuries, Ryan is sticking with the offseason vow he made in saying Buffalo’s defense will be better from past year, when it ranked 20th in yards allowed and managed 21 sacks – a franchise-low for a 16-game season. Just one, defensive tackle Adolphus Washington, is healthy.
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The injury means Rex Ryan’s new-look defense will be missing its top two draft picks to start the season. Early this week they got the news they were hoping they wouldn’t hear.
