AP

We shared a report earlier on Wednesday that Bills rookie linebacker Reggie Ragland will have surgery this week to repair a knee injury suffered in practice last week and that there would be a clearer idea of his outlook for the 2016 season after it was completed.

The Bills appear to already have an idea about what that determination is going to be. The team confirmed that Ragland will have surgery this week and said that they expect him to miss the entire season after tearing his ACL.

It’s a big blow to the Bills, who traded three picks to move into position to draft Ragland in the second round. He was ticketed for a starting job on a defense that they hope will be more effective than last year’s edition, but is now missing both Ragland and first-round pick Shaq Lawson in the front seven. The Bills hope Lawson’s shoulder will allow him to return to the lineup in the regular season, but it certainly isn’t how they drew things up in Buffalo.

Zach Brown, Brandon Spikes and David Hawthorne are experienced options to go along with Preston Brown at inside linebacker as the Bills move forward without Ragland.