Bills re-sign Brandon Spikes after potentially serious injury to Reggie Ragland

PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- As the Buffalo Bills await word on the severity of a knee injury to rookie linebacker Reggie Ragland, the team Sunday re-signed veteran linebacker Brandon Spikes, his agent David Canter announced on Twitter.

Spikes, 28, last played in the NFL for the Bills in 2014. He signed with the New England Patriots last year but was released last June as police investigated his role in a hit-and-run crash in Massachusetts. Spikes later pleaded guilty to multiple motor vehicle charges and received probation. The NFL suspended Spikes for the first four games of the 2015 regular season, which he spent out of football.

Spikes' signing comes after Ragland, the Bills' second-round pick in April, injured his knee in Friday's practice. Coach Rex Ryan initially said Ragland avoided ligament damage to his left knee, but struck a less optimistic tone Saturday when speaking about the injury.

"I'm not real sure [about ligament damage]," Ryan said. "I guess I was just so hopeful there's not going to be ligament things. My understanding is that as you get going, your leg is so tight, they'll fight it. You don't really get a true look of that. So as we mentioned, we got to wait for that swelling to go down.

"I know every Bill fan out there is hoping for the best, and that's certainly what we're doing, but there is concern."

A source said that more could be known about the severity of Ragland's injury as soon as Sunday.

After spending his first four seasons with the Patriots, Spikes signed with the Bills in 2014 and started 10 games that season. Limited to mostly an early-down, run-stopping role, Spikes tallied 54 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and three passes defensed for Buffalo while serving as a team captain.