ORCHARD PARK - Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott dropped a bombshell Wednesday afternoon, announcing that star edge rusher Von Miller is now out for the rest of the season.

Miller, who suffered a knee injury in the Thanksgiving Day victory over the Lions, was placed on injured reserve last week, but the hope was that he would be out the minimum four weeks, return late in the regular season and then be good to go for the playoffs.

However, Miller went down to Dallas for an exploratory surgery Tuesday and once the surgeon began probing, he found that the anterior cruciate ligament needed to be repaired.

Sign up for the Bills Blast newsletterDelivered straight to your inbox, additional Bills analysis, insight, stats, quotes and team history from Sal Maiorana

“Very unfortunate situation for Von obviously and our team,” McDermott said. “We care for him obviously, like we would any player. We know how much this means to him in terms of playing and being with the team. So we look forward to getting him back off the field for the rest of the season and his leadership. And we're certainly thinking about him as he recovers here.”

The procedure had been scheduled and the Bills’ hope was that no further damage in the knee would be discovered and that the original timetable would hold up.

“I was aware that it was a possibility,” general manager Brandon Beane said. “All crossing our fingers, but you see more when you go in there and you're hoping it's just a clean out of a scope and we get him back. That's my comments from last week where we were hopeful, that's why we went ahead and put him on IR to start the clock in hopes that he could be back. But once Dr. Cooper got in there, he felt it wasn't gonna hold and he needed to repair it.”

Neither McDermott nor Beane went into too much detail, but NFL Network - almost certainly through Miller’s agent - had more information about the procedure.

The original MRI taken after Miller got hurt did not show a tear in the ACL, only damage to the lateral meniscus. Tuesday’s surgery was supposed to be a fairly routine procedure to reposition the lateral meniscus while also cleaning up cartilage damage, but that’s when the ACL tear was revealed.

“We think if everything goes well with rehab, we'll have him for most of 2023,” general manager Brandon Beane said.

Other Buffalo Bills injuries

It was yet another punch to the gut of the Bills defense which has experienced a season-long decimation due to injury:

• Safety Micah Hyde has been out since Week 2;

• Cornerback Tre’Davious White missed the first 10 games;

• Safety Jordan Poyer has missed four games;

• Defensive end Greg Rousseau, defensive tackle Ed Oliver, and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds have each missed three;

• Cornerback Kaiir Elam and defensive tackle Jordan Phillips have missed two and Phillips may also be out Sunday against the Jets);

• Linebacker Matt Milano missed one and may also be out Sunday;

• And defensive linemen A.J. Epenesa and Tim Settle, and cornerback Dane Jackson each missed one.

Miller was signed by the Bills in free agency for six years at $120 million for the sole purpose of being the pass rushing difference maker the team has lacked. And he certainly provided that as he recorded eight sacks and 45 QB pressures in the 10 ½ games he played.

Who will Bills turn to now that Von Miller is out?

Now, the Bills have to rely on their three recent high draft picks - Epenesa (second round, 2020), Rousseau (first round, 2021), and Boogie Basham (second round 2021), - plus 2016 first-round pick Shaq Lawson who rejoined the Bills this season, to pick up for Miller’s loss.

“As I said last week when he was out, it’s a time and an opportunity for other guys to step up,” McDermott said. “We’ve got guys that were brought here for a reason. And like I said, I thought they did a good job in the game the other night. And the work continues for all of us, and those guys as well. It’s a great opportunity for them.”

Rousseau was having a nice season with five sacks before he suffered a knee injury that knocked him out of action. He just returned last week against the Patriots and had four QB pressures and a deflected pass. With Miller out, Rousseau becomes the leader of the group.

Lawson has been a bit of a revelation as he actually has played a higher percentage of snaps off the edge (39%) than anyone besides Miller (57%), mainly because he has been active for every game except the opener when he was a healthy scratch.

Epenesa has 4.5 sacks but as has been the case since he joined the team, he has been inconsistent and has only 19 pressures while playing 33% of the snaps, fewest among the edge rushers.

And Basham really hasn’t given the Bills much with two sacks and 16 pressures, but Beane thought Basham played his best game of the season against the Patriots.

“We've had some bumps and not everything's been pretty, but it's part of the deal and we're confident that with Von out, these young guys will step up,” Beane said. “We believe in these guys. Von has helped these guys already with just some of the things he’s taught them whether it’s moves, whether it’s preparation, film, all those things. He’s gonna be back here, and that’s the thing I talked to Von last night, once he can fly and get back here he’s going to be around to help and I’m excited to get him back.”

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's new twice-a-week newsletter, Bills Blast, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Von Miller injury: Buffalo Bills edge rusher out for season