Former Alabama linebacker Reggie Ragland will have to wait a year before playing his first NFL game. The Bills announced on Wednesday that Ragland, who was drafted by Buffalo in the second round last spring, will have surgery to repair a leg injury. He will likely miss the entire 2016 season.
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Ragland, who was expected to start for the Bills, partially tore an ACL in his left knee at practice on Friday. Buffalo is now forced to find a replacement less than a month before the season opens.
"It's a shame when such a great young man worked so hard for us and was going to have a vital role ," Bills head coach Rex Ryan said on Wednesday of the injury. "You've always got to have a replacement ready to go, and we've done a great job of that."
Buffalo is looking at several players to replace Ragland, including league veterans Zach Brown and Brandon Spikes.
Ragland led Alabama with 102 tackles last season and was selected by the Bills as the 41st pick of the draft.
