Stevan Ridley Injury: New England Patriots RB may have torn ACL

New England Patriots star running back Stevan Ridley left today’s game against the Buffalo Bills with a knee injury, and the durable back was quickly ruled out of the game after he needed to be helped to the locker room. It was one of a few notable injuries for the Patriots, who are also set to lose Jerod Mayo for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, it sounds like Ridley could join him, as his injury is worse than we could have imagined.

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The NFL Network’s Albert Breer reports that Ridley will have an MRI tomorrow, and the team fears that the workhorse back tore his ACL in today’s game. Losing Ridley would be a massive blow for the Patriots, because they would have to hope that rookie James White can emerge as a consistent rusher in his stead. Shane Vereen has his own injury concerns and isn’t durable enough to hold up as the feature back, though he is certainly talented enough to get plenty of touches in the rushing and passing game.

We can only hope that Ridley hasn’t actually torn his ACL, but reports like these are generally very accurate. Ridley had two 100-yard rushing performances this season and is one of the league’s better backs due to his ability to consistently churn out yardage between the hashmarks and on the outside. Without Ridley, the Patriots are definitely worse off, and his injury will hurt the team more than Mayo’s if White or Brandon Bolden can’t step up in his place.