A day after Ragland was injured, Buffalo agreed to terms on a one-year contract with free-agent linebacker Brandon Spikes. Coach Rex Ryan initially said the Bills believed Ragland avoided ligament damage, but he later backed off that statement as the team waited for swelling to go down in Ragland’s knee.
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Buffalo Bills linebacker Reggie Ragland (59) prepares to take the field during NFL football training camp in Pittsford, N.Y., Monday, Aug. 1, 2016. Now two of those players are sidelined with third-round pick Adolphus Washington the only one who active in practice now.
Ragland was hurt during practice Friday while going after the ball carrier.
Ragland, a consensus All-American performer last season, was expected to start next to Preston Brown at inside linebacker as a rookie. These weren’t rookies to be stashed as reserves and unleashed at some future date; the Bills thought they had two first-round talents in Lawson and Ragland, and they felt both could play right away because they came from high-level college programs.
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The loss of Ragland hurts, but combined with the absence of Lawson, it stings a little bit more. Whether Spikes and Hawthorne provide quality depth remains to be seen. With him now lost for the year, former Tennessee Titans second-round pick Zach Brown will likely move into a starting role.
