Buffalo Bills DE Von Miller has surgery on ACL, out for season

An injury that was originally supposed to be short term has turned season-ending as Buffalo Bills star edge rusher Von Miller ultimately had his ACL surgically repair, head coach Sean McDermott said on Wednesday. Miller went down with the knee injury against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving.

While the injury was initially suspected to keep him sidelined for a few games — or just one by his reckoning — the Bills opted to move him to injured reserve to help ease him back. Then Miller went under the knife on Tuesday for exploratory surgery and the doctors discovered his ACL was torn.

Surgeons repaired the torn ACL but it’s a crushing blow for Miller and a Bills defense that was going to lean on the star pass rusher down the stretch run as a Super Bowl contender.

Miller was carted off the field in Detroit after the initial injury

The Buffalo Bills were down one of their stars for much of their Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions. Miller was been ruled out after heading to the locker room on a cart.

Miller left the field late in the first half after suffering the injury and spending plenty of time in the injury tent, according to CBS’ Tracy Wolfson. It’s a huge hit for the Bills given Miller’s skillset, but also because they’re already shorthanded on defense.

Von Miller will miss the rest of today's game with a knee injury.

Prayers up for Von 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Qq9g5ctGxT

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 24, 2022

“He was in the tent for a very long time,” Wolfson said on the CBS broadcast. “Came out, looked extremely frustrated, sat on the bench, talked to the athletic trainers, spoke to his defensive line coach, Eric Washington. As you saw, he got on the cart, he went in. … But the Bills right now down to three defensive ends. It’s something certainly to watch and it would be a big, big loss for the Buffalo Bills today, guys.”

During the third quarter, NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport said Miller likely suffered a knee sprain. However, he’ll have an MRI on Friday to determine the full severity of the injury.

Miller was in the midst of a big year for the Bills in his first season with the team, entering play on Thanksgiving with 8.0 sacks and 20 tackles to his name. He helped the Los Angeles Rams to a Super Bowl title last season after coming over in a trade from the Denver Broncos, but signed with the Bills in free agency.