Bills C Eric Wood Suffered Career-Ending Neck Injury

Buffalo Bills center Eric Wood has suffered a career-ending neck injury, he announced on Friday:

Scout Fantasy Sports first reported the news. The Bills also confirmed Wood's retirement:

The 31-year-old Wood is a nine-year veteran who started 120 games for the Bills and was named to the Pro Bowl after the 2015 season.

Tim Graham of the Buffalo News reported Wood's neck injury is something that occurred over time:

Buffalo selected Wood with the No. 28 overall pick of the 2009 NFL draft out of Louisville.

Wood initially started at right guard before becoming the starting center in his second season and remaining in that role for the next eight years.

Although Wood missed several games due to injury early in his career, he had been durable in recent years, appearing in all 16 games in four of the past five seasons.

Wood's play, along with left guard Richie Incognito and left tackle Cordy Glenn, was a big reason why Buffalo was able to lead the NFL in rushing in both 2015 and 2016.

The biggest hole in Wood's resume for most of his career was having never played in a playoff game, but that changed during the 2017 campaign when the Bills ended a 17-year postseason drought.

Buffalo fell 10-3 to the Jacksonville Jaguars on the AFC Divisional Round.

Despite his career reportedly being cut short, Wood is arguably the most successful center in Bills history with the exception of Kent Hull.