Reggie Keith Ragland Jr. (born September 23, 1993) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

who is a free agent. He played college football at

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

, winning two national championships. He was then drafted by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

in the second round of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft be ...

. In 2016, he missed his rookie season after being placed on injured reserve with a

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

. During the 2017 season, he was traded to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

for a fourth round pick in the 2019 draft. On January 6, 2018, Ragland started his first career playoff game, registering nine tackles during the team's 22-21 loss to the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

. Two years later he won his first Super Bowl, recording two tackles when the Chiefs defeated the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

High school career

A native of

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

, Ragland started his high school career as an 8th grader, playing football at Grissom High School. Ragland's family relocated to

Madison, Alabama Madison is a city located primarily in Madison County, near the northern border of the U.S. state of Alabama. Madison extends west into neighboring Limestone County. The city is included in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area, the second-largest ...

, Ragland attended

Bob Jones High School Bob Jones High School is a public high school in Madison, Alabama, United States. The school is a part of Madison City Schools. Despite its name, it is not affiliated with Bob Jones University of Greenville, South Carolina; rather, it is n ...

, where he was a varsity player in both football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educati ...

, he played

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular c ...

on a basketball team that upset No. 1 Homewood to win the 2009–2010

AHSAA The Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA), based in Montgomery, is the governing body for interscholastic athletics and activities programs for public schools in Alabama. The AHSAA is a member National Federation of State High School ...

Class 6A Championship, with Levi Randolph being named MVP. Meanwhile, on the football field Ragland had 40 receptions as a

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense (sports), offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide ...

and six

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

s. Mostly playing defense as a junior, he recorded 91 tackles in 2010 with 21 tackles-for-loss. Bob Jones went 8–4 over the season, losing 21–28 to Clay-Chalkville in the first round of the 6A playoffs. In his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

season, Ragland was credited with 97 tackles with 22 tackles-for-loss and six sacks. The Patriots allowed only 13 points per game and were 10–2 on the season, losing to the eventual 6A state runner-up

Hoover Hoover may refer to: Music * Hoover (band), an American post-hardcore band * Hooverphonic, a Belgian band originally named Hoover * Hoover (singer), Willis Hoover, a country and western performer active in 1960s and '70s * "Hoover" (song), a 2016 ...

in the second round of the playoffs. Ragland was also on the Patriots

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

team, where he competed in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by t ...

and the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

. Regarded as a four-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heck ...

, Ragland was listed as the No. 1 inside linebacker prospect in his class. Shortly after his junior season, he committed to Alabama over Auburn,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

, and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

College career

As a

true freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

on Alabama's 2012 championship team, Ragland played in 10 games, primarily on special teams, and was credited with eight tackles, include five solo stops, and a forced fumble. In his sophomore season, he appeared in 13 games, and compiled 17 tackles on the season as a back-up to C. J. Mosley. Both he and

Reuben Foster Reuben Foster (born April 4, 1994) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. A consensus All-American in high school, Foster was regarded as the best linebacker prospect of his class before committing to Alabama, where he played ...

were the leading candidates to replace Mosley at the “Will” linebacker spot in Alabama's

3–4 defense In American football, the 3–4 defense is a common defensive alignment consisting of three down linemen and four linebackers. It is a called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs) ...

. Ragland eventually won out over Foster, starting all but one game for the Crimson Tide in 2014. He recorded 95 tackles on the season, which ranked second on the team behind only

Landon Collins Landon Alexander Collins (born January 10, 1994) is an American football safety and linebacker for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, where he was a part of the team that won the 20 ...

. Ragland also had 10.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and a team-high three fumble recoveries. He was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week after a career-high 13 tackles against

Louisiana State Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

College statistics

Professional career

On January 21, 2016, it was announced that Ragland had accepted his invitation to play in the

2016 Senior Bowl The 2016 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and prospects for the 2016 Draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The game concluded th ...

. He impressed many scouts and analysts and was named one of the top performers during Senior Bowl practices. On January 26, 2016, he played outside linebacker for Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach Gus Bradley's South team that defeated the North 27-16. He was one of 38 collegiate linebackers that attended the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...

. He completed the majority of drills, finishing fifth in the short shuttle and 14th in the 40-yard dash. Prior to the draft, however, medical exams revealed Ragland having an enlarged

aorta The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes ...

. Although reports stated this would not affect his football career, several teams had lowered Ragland on their draft boards as a result. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Ragland was projected to be a first round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked the top inside linebacker prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com, the second best linebacker by NFL analyst

Mike Mayock Michael Francis Mayock (born August 14, 1958) is a former American football executive and former player who served as the General manager (American football), general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) from 20 ...

, and was ranked the third best linebacker in the draft by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

'' and NFL analyst Charles Davis.

Buffalo Bills

The

selected Ragland in the second round (41st overall) of the

. The Bills traded their second round pick (49th overall), a fourth round pick (117th overall), and their fourth round pick in the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia ...

to the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

for the 41st overall pick to draft him.

2016 season

On May 24, 2016, the Bills signed Ragland to a four-year, $5.84 million contract that includes $3.16 million guaranteed and a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $2.44 million. Ragland and Preston Brown entered training camp slated as the starting inside linebackers for the Bills. On August 5, 2016, Ragland suffered an injury to the left knee during training camp. On August 30, 2016, Ragland was officially placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

after it was discovered to be a

. He missed the entire rookie season due to the injury.

2017 season

Ragland entered training camp and competed against Preston Brown for the starting middle linebacker role in new defensive coordinator

Leslie Frazier Leslie Antonio Frazier (born April 3, 1959) is an American football coach and former cornerback who is the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the he ...

's 4-3 defense. On August 8, 2017, Ragland was demoted to the third team defense behind Brown and

Tanner Vallejo Tanner Vallejo (born December 16, 1994) is an American football linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boise State. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round of th ...

Kansas City Chiefs

On August 28, 2017, Ragland was traded to the

for a fourth round draft pick in the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April ...

. The Bills had placed Ragland on the trade block for the majority of the summer as it was believed that he would not be an ideal fit for Bills' head coach

Sean McDermott Sean Michael McDermott (born March 21, 1974) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He began his NFL coaching career as an assistant for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2001, ...

's base 4-3 defense. He was one of multiple players traded by the Bills after the arrival of new executives. Head coach

Andy Reid Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. From 200 ...

named Ragland the backup inside linebacker behind

Ramik Wilson Ramik Wilson (born August 19, 1992) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Georgia. Early years Wilson attended Jefferson High School in Tampa, Florida, where he played football and ran track. In football, he ...

to start the regular season. Ragland was inactive for the first three games while he became familiar with the defense. On October 2, 2017, Ragland made his NFL debut and first career start in a 29-20 victory against the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

. He made his first career tackle with teammate

Frank Zombo Frank William Zombo III (born March 5, 1987) is a former American football linebacker. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2010 and later won Super Bowl XLV with them over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played colle ...

, as they both tackled Robert Kelley to stop a three-yard run. Head coach Andy Reid stated that Ragland was started over a healthy Ramik Wilson so they could see what he had to offer. He remained the starting inside linebacker, opposite

Derrick Johnson Derrick O’Hara Johnson (born November 22, 1982) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned consensus All-American honors twice. He was drafted by the Kansas Cit ...

, for the remainder of the season. On November 19, 2017, Ragland made a season-high nine combined tackles in a 12-9 loss at the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

. The following week, he tied his season-high of nine combined tackles during a 16-10 loss against his former team, the

. Ragland was a healthy scratch for the Chiefs' Week 17 matchup at the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

and finished the season with 44 combined tackles (31 solo) in 12 games and ten starts. The

finished the 2017 season atop the

AFC West The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, La ...

with a 10-6 record and received a playoff berth. On January 6, 2018, Ragland started his first career playoff game and collected nine combined tackles in a 22-21 loss to the

2018 season

In 2018, Ragland played in 16 games with 15 starts, finishing second on the team with 86 combined tackles, a half sack, and an interception.

2019 season

In week 7 of the 2019 season against the

, Ragland recorded a sack on

Joe Flacco Joseph Vincent Flacco (born January 16, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Delaware after transferring from Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Balt ...

and recovered a fumble forced on Flacco by teammate

Anthony Hitchens Anthony Hitchens (born June 10, 1992) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Iowa. Early life Hitch ...

and returned it for a touchdown in the 30-6 win. Ragland helped the Chiefs win

Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conferen ...

against the

31-20. Ragland recorded 2 tackles in the game.

Detroit Lions

On April 7, 2020, Ragland signed with the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

New York Giants

On March 20, 2021, Ragland signed a one-year contract with the

Las Vegas Raiders

On November 10, 2022, the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divi ...

signed Ragland to their practice squad.

Cleveland Browns

On December 7, 2022, Ragland was signed off the

Raiders Raider(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Paul Revere & the Raiders, an American rock band * "Raider", a track from the 1969 album ''Farewell Aldebaran'', by Judy Henske and Jerry Yester * "Raiders", a track from the 1987 album ''Young an ...

practice squad by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

References

External links

*
Alabama Crimson Tide bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ragland, Reggie 1993 births Living people People from Madison, Alabama Players of American football from Alabama American football linebackers Alabama Crimson Tide football players All-American college football players Buffalo Bills players Kansas City Chiefs players Detroit Lions players New York Giants players Las Vegas Raiders players Cleveland Browns players