As ESPN reported, the designation will bring an end to Ray’s season unless the team can reach an injury settlement.

Shane Ray Was Emotional About NFL Comeback Attempt

Ray was hurt in the team’s preseason loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 19, leaving the field with a hamstring injury after playing only 12 snaps. Bills head coach Sean McDermott initially said the defensive end was day-to-day, ESPN reported.

Ray came into the NFL as a first-round pick of the Denver Broncos in 2015, winning a Super Bowl in his rookie season while playing 30% of defensive snaps for the season. Ray had four sacks in 15 games that season, but was later derailed by significant injuries including a torn wrist ligament in 2017 that forced him to miss long stretches of the following two seasons.

Ray signed with the Baltimore Ravens in the 2019 offseason but failed to make the final roster. Ray spent the next two years away from football before joining the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, where he played for two seasons.

After signing with the Bills, Ray took to his Instagram page to open up about the emotions of trying to return to the NFL.

“Words can’t describe the emotions I’m feeling right now,” he wrote in the caption. “So many tears, sleepless nights, depression, everything that comes with losing the game. So many days of having nothing but hope while fighting a uphill battle. There where times that I thought maybe I should give up, but I wouldn’t be me if I folded. Even in my darkest moments I believed in myself. I believed in my preparation. I believed that I would have another opportunity even if the world didn’t believe.”

Von Miller Speaks Out About Teammate’s Injury

Bills edge rusher Von Miller, who also played alongside Ray in Denver, spoke out about the injury and said he had sympathy for his teammate.

“It’s just one of those things that you gotta get healthy and, you know, that’s the main part for him to get healthy, man. I’m sorry, he got hurt. I’m injured now [recovering from surgery on his right ACL], so I already know what he’s dealing with,” Miller told ESPN at a charity event on Monday.

Miller added that Ray had been staying with him during training camp, so he was able to stay close and support him after the injury.

“He’s staying here at my crib at the house, so that’s a good thing, too, where I can put my hands on him and keep my eyes on him, man, and, you know, I think he’s shown what he can do on the football field and, you know, whenever he gets that chance to go out there and play, that’d be great.”