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The Buffalo Bills suffered a major loss on December 7 with news that edge rusher Von Miller would be out for the season — and potentially even longer — with a torn ACL.
Some fans took to Twitter to mourn the loss and ponder what the future might bring for the Bills and their Super Bowl aspirations. Miller was hurt in the team’s Thanksgiving Day win over the Detroit Lions, and initially had expressed some optimism that he might return to the field before the end of the regular season. But Miller was ultimately placed on injured reserve last week, and now the team has announced that he will miss the remainder of the season.
Bills Share Grim News
As ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg reported, Miller underwent exploratory surgery on Tuesday that revealed an ACL injury. Bills head coach Sean McDermott said on Wednesday that Miller would be out for the season.
“Unfortunate situation, for Von, obviously, and our team. Care for him, obviously, like we would any player,” McDermott said. “We know how much this means to him in terms of playing and being with the team, so we look forward to getting him back, obviously off the field for the rest of the season and his leadership, and we’re certainly thinking about him as he recovers here.”
The Bills have already lost All-Pro Micah Hyde to a season-ending neck injury, and now will be without their top pass-rusher for the rest of the season.
Miller came to the Bills as the team’s biggest free-agency acquisition, signing a six-year, $120 million contract. He led the team with eight sacks this season and had 21 total tackles and one forced fumble. With Miller gone, the Bills will rely more heaving on defensive ends Gregory Rousseau, A.J. Epenesa, Boogie Basham and Shaq Lawson.
Fans React to News
After McDermott’s announcement on Wednesday, many Bills fans took to Twitter to vent their sadness and frustration. Some noted the similarities to last season, when All-Pro cornerback Tre’Davious White also suffered a torn ACL in the team’s Thanksgiving game.
After a long recovery, White was able to return in this year’s Thanksgiving game and has been slowly ramping up his workload.
“Another great player on our defense tears his ACL on Thanksgiving,” tweeted Bills fan LeShawn Jerman. “Last year it was Tre Day. This year Von Miller. This hurts A lot. Stop putting us on Thanksgiving. Please and thanks”
Others questioned how the defense might adjust to the loss of Miller. While losing Hyde was a major blow to the defense, he has an All-Pro counterpart in safety Jordan Poyer. The dropoff between Miller and the rest of the Bills edge rushers is much steeper.
Matt Bove of WKBW in Buffalo noted that the Bills had also relied on Miller for leadership both on and off the field.
“Simply put, this is a crushing loss for the Bills,” Bove tweeted. “Von Miller made an immediate impact on and off the field after joining the team and now they’ll be without him for the remainder of the season.”
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