Buffalo Bills place former first-round pick Shane Ray on IR, ending season

The Buffalo Bills were forced to place defensive end Shane Ray on injured reserve on Monday following a hamstring injury he suffered in Saturday’s preseason game versus the Steelers. Ray, a former first-round draft pick for the Denver Broncos, played 12 snaps in the game before exiting due to the injury.

The former Missouri Tiger has been working on his NFL comeback for a couple of years now. After playing two seasons for the Toronto Argonauts, Ray signed a deal with the Bills. The Bills hosted him for a workout during rookie minicamp, resulting in a contract for training camp.

Now injured once again, Ray is staying with one of his former teammates who is trying to keep his spirits high.

“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,” Von Miller, Ray’s former teammate, told ESPN at a Monday charity event. “I’m sorry, he got hurt. I’m injured now [recovering from surgery on right ACL], so I already know what he’s dealing with.

“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.”

Ray’s comeback faces hurdle

Despite a relatively short career in the league, Ray has a Super Bowl win under his belt. He also had an eight-sack season in 2016 before injuries started to derail his development.

“I know I still have a lot of good football left in me, and I just want to maximize that so that I can, no matter how this ends, I can go back and be like, ‘I gave it everything that I had under the circumstances, under the situation, I gave it everything I got and I can live with that,'” Ray said in May of his journey back to the field.

After multiple surgeries for a wrist injury, Ray played out his rookie deal with the Broncos before leaving the game for a couple of seasons. He resurfaced in the CFL before ultimately working his way back to an NFL roster.

Following the Bills’ game on Saturday, they also placed tackle Tommy Doyle on injured reserve. Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott said Doyle would be out for the season. The team also signed running back Ty Johnson and tackle Garrett McGhin on Monday.