The Buffalo Bills have finally decided to part ways with the former second round pick. Reggie Ragland has been traded to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 2019 fourth round pick.
The Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs executed this trade mid-day on Monday August 28th. The players left from the Rex Ryan era are dwindling. Reggie Ragland is just the next one to fall. It was reported a few weeks ago that Ragland had been demoted to third-team defense in training camp. That says a lot about a guy that had first-team aspirations.
Ragland caught the injury bug early in his career missing out on his whole rookie season. Buffalo hoped for a bounce-back year in 2017, but they got the opposite. This is the Buffalo Bills cutting their losses. The Chiefs must see potential because a fourth round pick is a lot to give for a third-string linebacker.
Kansas City has a solid core of veteran linebackers that can aid Ragland in returning to pre-injury form. Tamba Hali and Justin Houston will be as good of mentors as any.
ESPN commented on the Reggie Ragland trade:
"“To create a roster space for Ragland, the Chiefs released linebacker Josh Mauga on Monday. Mauga, 30, started 30 games for Kansas City in 2014 and 2015 but missed all of last season with a hip injury.”"
"“The Chiefs have been searching for a starting inside linebacker to pair with Derrick Johnson for some time. Since Brett Veach was hired as general manager in July, they re-signed veteran Mauga and traded with Seattle for Kevin Pierre-Louis. Nobody has stepped forward to win the job, so the Chiefs had been going with Ramik Wilson, last year’s starter.”"
It s clear that the Chiefs are looking for players who might be able to replace their aging linebacker corps. In a few years. Reggie Ragland’s time line might line up perfectly with that.
Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott have been busy in bringing in their own guys, and exterminating the players left-over from Rex Ryan’s stint and the coaches before him. Cardale Jones, Sammy Watkins, Ronald Darby, and Cyrus Kouandjio have all been traded to various teams, and Reggie Ragland is the next to go.
Trade rumors have surrounded the Alabama alum in recent weeks, so it wasn’t a huge surprise to see this happen. Buffalo has been stacking up draft picks while still planning on sporting a formidable team for the regular season. It will be interesting to see how the season goes, and at what point in the season the team declares the year a success or a failure. The latter would include them continue to stockpile draft picks.
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The only thing we don’t know is who will be the next to go. Who do you think it will be? LEave your thoughts in the comments below!