Patriots running back Stevan Ridley suffered a torn ACL and MCL and is done for the year, tweets Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com.
This is new territory for Ridley who has never missed a game due to injury. Despite fumbling woes in the past, Ridley has been an important part of the Pats’ offense as a pass-catching power back. His best season came in 2012, when he rushed 290 times for 1,263 times and 12 touchdowns. The timing of the injury is especially unfortunate for the 2011 third-round pick out of LSU as he is in the final year of his rookie contract. In Ridley’s absence, the Patriots are likely to turn to passing-game specialist Shane Vereen, Brandon Bolden, and 2014 fourth-round pick James White.
The Eagles dubbed their Sunday matchup against the Giants as “Black Sunday” but in retrospect that name would have been fitting for the full slate of games yesterday. Serious injuries were suffered by a number of players yesterday, including Browns center Alex Mack, Jets cornerback Dee Milliner, Pats linebacker Jerod Mayo, and Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz.