Rams' Long to undergo ankle surgery

ST. LOUIS (AP) - St. Louis Rams defensive end Chris Long will undergo surgery and is expected to miss most of the season after injuring his left ankle in the opening loss to the Vikings.

Coach Jeff Fisher said Wednesday he'd not been optimistic about Long, who was hurt tackling Vikings running back Adrian Peterson in the third quarter. Apparently, Long was stepped on from behind.

"I've been here a few years now and it's not good when he doesn't get up," Fisher said. "He's never on the ground."

It's the second major hit dealt to the Rams, who lost quarterback Sam Bradford for the year with a knee injury in the preseason. Bradford underwent surgery Monday.

Long, the second overall pick in 2008, has never missed a game and has started 85 of 97 in his career. He had 81/2 sacks last season and 111/2 in 2013 and gave no sign of a serious injury while meeting with media after the opening loss.

"He's a very tough guy," said William Hayes, who inherits the starting job this week at Tampa Bay. "At the end of the day it was mind-boggling I didn't know he was hurt as bad as he was."

Fisher said Ethan Westbrooks, who beat out Michael Sam for a backup defensive end spot, could be active this week.

Bradford underwent surgery Monday for a second torn ACL in his left knee and is expected to rejoin the team next week. He missed the last nine games of 2013.

Long will be placed on the injured reserve-designated to return list, which would sideline him at least six weeks. Fisher wouldn't go into specifics about the surgery