Jim McBride of the Boston Globe was the first to report Monday afternoon that New England Patriots running back Dion Lewis did in fact tear his ACL Sunday against the Washington Redskins.
Lewis exited the game in the third quarter with the non-contact knee injury. While he did walk off under his own power, there was some major concern that Lewis had indeed suffer structural damage to his ACL.
Not only is this a tough blow for the Patriots, it's a major bummer for a running back in Lewis who hadn't attempted a single rush in the NFL in two seasons immediately prior to New England taking a chance on him.
Lewis' season ends with 622 total yards and four touchdowns in seven games.
The only real silver lining here for the 25-year-old running back is that he just signed a two-year, $5 million extension with the Patriots, giving him some sort of security heading into what will be a lengthy rehab.
The expectation in New England is that LeGarrette Blount will see an increase in his workload, even after he attempted 46 rushes in the past two games. Brandon Bolden will likely replace Lewis as the team's primary backup. He scored a touchdown against Washington on Sunday.