Lions News

[DanO]

No worries. Happy, happy, joy, joy.

[whatever_gong82]

Injuries update: Detroit Lions lose yet another defender to season-ender

Justin Rogers
Nov 30



Allen Park — The defensive injuries keep mounting for the Detroit Lions. A day after it was reported linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez suffered a torn ACL, ending his year, coach Dan Campbell told reporters Saturday afternoon that rookie defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo is similarly done for the season.

“I hate it for Malcolm,” Campbell said. “He was playing so dang good for us. He's been a staple for us, defensively, especially with the injuries. Even before that, he was playing for us. He really was a spot starter anyway, and then took over that (starting) role with the injuries. (He's a) special teams guy for us, so it's another one, man. We hate to lose him. It's hard.


“…Wingo is going to be out, he'll be done for the season,” Campbell continued. “His will probably require surgery. That's another one. Hate that for him, but everything will be clean and he'll be healed up for next year. That's good news.”


Wingo exited Thursday’s game with a knee injury in the second half of the contest and briefly returned to action. The sixth-round draft pick out of LSU had appeared in 11 games, logging 176 defensive snaps and another 44 on special teams.


To backfill those spots on the roster, the Lions are poaching two players off practice squads from other teams, bringing in linebacker Kwon Alexander and defensive lineman Johah Williams.


Alexander will join two other relative newcomers in the linebacking corps, David Long Jr. and Ezekiel Turner, as Detroit tries to patchwork a depleted position group.


“Kwon will bring a whole nother energy,” Campbell said. “He's all energy. He is a relentless player, he is an aggressive player. And he can run and hit. He'll fit that room nicely and bring us a little something different.


“…I know Kwon. Certainly (defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG knows him. We were with him in New Orleans. We know exactly what he's suited to do. Most of this will be carryover for him, a lot of this. Some of the terminology might be a tick different than what he was doing in Denver, but a lot of it is the same as New Orleans. So I think he'll pick up on this fast. We're going to use him, ask him to do what he does really well.”

Campbell said the trio, along with Ben Niemann and Trevor Nowaske, are all likely to end up with defensive roles.


“I think you're going to see every one of those guys play, and they're going to have a role, and they're all going to contribute on defense for us,” Campbell said.

The addition of Williams was also necessary because of injuries to Josh Paschal and Levi Onwuzurike. Neither is expected to be out long-term, but playing Thursday against Green Bay looks unlikely.


“Paschal, it's hard to say,” Campbell said. “Really he and Levi are day-to-day. I think Paschal has got a better shot (to play against Green Bay) than Levi, but I'm probably — I don't know — I'm not really optimistic about either one of them playing.”

In the back end, Campbell said cornerback Carlton Davis remains day-to-day and questionable for Thursday after missing the Thanksgiving game with a knee injury. Emmanuel Moseley, meanwhile, should be good to go after he was made inactive after something popped up during the pre-game warmup against Chicago.



“Had a little something that flared up on him and didn't feel right,” Campbell said. “Just knowing what we were going to ask him to do, we didn't want to take that risk of him trying to open up and run. But it looks like he's going to be just fine.”

It’s not surprising the team is exhibiting extra caution with Moseley, coming off two serious injuries that sidelined him most of the past two years.



Email: jrogers@detroitfootball.net

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[Mainevent]

Tough break.for Rodriguez, he looked like he was taking a next step. Kwon Alexander is a great pickup this late in the year.

Late in the season picking up 2 productive vets like Long and Alexander is about as good as you could hope for. You need plug and play type guys that have seen a lot and don’t take a bunch of time to get up to speed. And that’s what they got even if they are on the downside from where they were.

[froot loops]

Yep, you have to find guys like this and every team that wins Superbowls has to do it. By the time the LA Rams won the Superbowl with Stafford they had a comeback victory with Cooper Kupp and practice squad receivers. Their secondary was so depleted that they called Eric Weddle out of a two year retirement. He was calling the coverages within a couple weeks, he tore his pec in the first half of the SB, taped it up. played the rest of the game, won the Superbowl and went right back into retirement.

When we hear about poaching practice squad players or signing free agents during the season we have to remember not all teams are the same. When the Lions were shitty and had coaches like Patricia, guys like Alexander and Long aren't jumping at the chance. Neither are guys like Tim Patrick and Allen Robinson. Back in the day we can remember the successful guys the Lions poached because they were so rare.

[Trickalicious]

Rodrigo must faking that ACL tear.

This is bullshit. I can tell you faking an ACL got me the same results as claiming "that time of the month" to get me out of gym class dodgeball.

[El Axe]

A guy on reddit figured out that the Lions have by far the most players out with injury, almost doubling the league average.

Of all the 32 NFL teams the number of reported players on the injury list (IR, out, doubtful, and questionable) the mean/average number of players was 14.53 and a median of 14.5. The maximum number of players was Detroit with 25 injured players and the minimum was Chicago and Denver with 6. The mean/average number of players on IR was 8.9 and a median of 9. The maximum was Detroit with 15 and the minimum was Denver and Greenbay with 4. The Lions are about 75% more injured than the league average and have 70% more players on IR than the league average.

[DanO]

A guy on reddit figured out that the Lions have by far the most players out with injury, almost doubling the league average.

"Of all the 32 NFL teams the number of reported players on the injury list (IR, out, doubtful, and questionable) the mean/average number of players was 14.53 and a median of 14.5. The maximum number of players was Detroit with 25 injured players and the minimum was Chicago and Denver with 6. The mean/average number of players on IR was 8.9 and a median of 9. The maximum was Detroit with 15 and the minimum was Denver and Greenbay with 4. The Lions are about 75% more injured than the league average and have 70% more players on IR than the league average."

Nothing to worry about. Nope. Hell they can sustain 6 or 7 more and still win the SB. I don't know what the fuck I'm thinking.

[DanO]

Yep, you have to find guys like this and every team that wins Superbowls has to do it. By the time the LA Rams won the Superbowl with Stafford they had a comeback victory with Cooper Kupp and practice squad receivers. Their secondary was so depleted that they called Eric Weddle out of a two year retirement. He was calling the coverages within a couple weeks, he tore his pec in the first half of the SB, taped it up. played the rest of the game, won the Superbowl and went right back into retirement.

When we hear about poaching practice squad players or signing free agents during the season we have to remember not all teams are the same. When the Lions were shitty and had coaches like Patricia, guys like Alexander and Long aren't jumping at the chance. Neither are guys like Tim Patrick and Allen Robinson. Back in the day we can remember the successful guys the Lions poached because they were so rare.

Not saying it can't be done. Not saying the Lions can't do it. Not saying that at all. I'm just a little concerned with all the injuries. See above post for posted concerns.

[froot loops]

[whatever_gong82]

Packers, Lions contrasting pictures of health heading into Thursday matchup

Justin Rogers
Dec 1



Allen Park — Each week during the 2024 season, we’ve updated you on what’s new with the upcoming opponent, but there’s seemingly little to share about a divisional rival the Detroit Lions played a month earlier.

But attempting to set the table for Thursday night’s back half of the home-and-home with the Green Bay Packers, let’s take a look at how the makeup of the matchup has shifted.


The conversation unquestionably centers around injuries. The Lions have lost a handful of key pieces since their Week 9 victory, while the Packers are slightly healthier than they were for the previous meeting.

Detroit's guaranteed absences from the lineup between the games are linebackers Alex Anzalone and Jalen Reeves-Maybin, rookie defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo and return man Kalif Raymond. Additionally, the status of offensive tackle Taylor Decker, cornerback Carlton Davis III and defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike are up in the air. Decker and Davis missed the team’s Thanksgiving Classic with knee injuries, while Onwuzurike exited during the first half of that contest, also with a knee concern.


The Lions also lost linebacker linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez and Josh Paschal to injury on Thanksgiving. Rodriguez, who had been backfilling the majority of Anzalone’s snaps, is done for the season with a torn ACL. Paschal can be counted among the group of unknowns for this upcoming Thursday, but he and Onwuzurike aren't likely to be ready according to coach Dan Campbell. But unlike the players above, Rodriguez and Paschal both missed the previous game against the Packers with unrelated ailments.

With the mounting injuries, several players who saw minimal or no defensive snaps — and in some cases weren’t even on Detroit’s roster — could see time in this contest. That group includes linebackers Ezekiel Turner, David Long, and the freshly signed Kwon Alexander, a pair of defensive linemen poached off practice squads this week, Myles Adams and Jonah Williams, as well as cornerbacks Kindle Vildor, Emmanuel Moseley or Khalil Dorsey, depending on Davis’ availability. According to Campbell on Saturday, the starter is day-to-day and questionable.


If Adams and Williams aren’t aren't able to get up to speed this week, the Lions could turn to their practice squad to bolster the defensive front’s depth, particularly on the edges. That potentially opens the door for someone like Isaac Ukwu, Isaiah Thomas or Mitchell Agude to get a temporary promotion.

For the Packers, they should be in better shape than they were in Week 9. That begins with quarterback Jordan Love, who was battling a groin strain that week, which appeared to affect his performance in the inclement conditions. Now healthy, Love has been playing at his peak level during the team’s three-game winning streak, completing 69.1% of his throws and posting a 120.8 passer rating.


He’s also taken just three sacks during that stretch, dropping back behind an intact starting offensive line. When the two teams played previously, Packers center Josh Myers was sidelined, forcing a shuffling of the deck up front.

Defensively, the Packers will have outstanding rookie safety Evan Williams back after he was shelved by a strained hamstring the last time. What’s unclear is if No. 1 cornerback Jaire Alexander will suit up. He missed the Week 9 matchup, as well as the past two weeks, with a knee injury.


Another piece that may or may not play with a lingering injury is rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper. He missed Green Bay’s Thanksgiving game against Miami with a pulled hamstring.

Beyond the injuries, both teams made deadline moves at defensive end. The Lions acquired a key piece in Za’Darius Smith while the Packers shipped out his former teammate Preston Smith.


For the Lions, Za’Darius Smith has provided a much-needed boost to the pass rush after the early-season loss of Pro Bowler Aidan Hutchinson. In his first three appearances with Detroit, Smith has tallied 3.0 sacks and 17 QB pressures.

As for Preston Smith, he was a poor scheme fit for Green Bay’s newly installed attacking front and requested a trade. He was shipped to Pittsburgh in exchange for a seventh-round pick.


The now-former Packer logged three tackles with 21 defensive snaps in Week 9. His playing time has been replaced by a combination of an increased workload for Kingsley Enagbare and Brenton Cox Jr., who was a healthy scratch for the first nine games of the season.

The Packers have won seven of their last eight with the lone loss coming at the hands of the Lions, 24-14, at Lambeau Field. During a three-game winning streak since that defeat, they’ve averaged 29.3 while allowed just 15.3 during that stretch.




Email: jrogers@detroitfootball.net

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[froot loops]

[Mainevent]

Interesting move, I’d expect him to fit in as a hybrid LB - the role Iffy would have filled if healthy. Even in his prime Adams was known much more as downhill S than a guy playing in space, including putting up big sack numbers a few years.

[SnowMeiser]

WTF, I read something where Gibbs posted a photo that had the Lions playbook information on it. Is this true? I saw that Dan Campbell wasn't aware of it and looked visibly upset. Anybody hear anything or is this just a hoax?

[chemiclord]

It really happened.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/lions-dan-campbell-surprised-by-jahmyr-gibbs-social-media-post-id-rather-our-stuff-not-be-out-there/

[Cody_Russell]

Not smart, Gibbs.

Change the signals now if anything meaningful is out there. or use it for the Lions advantage by tricking teams because they think they have the signals. 3D chess.

Interesting move, I’d expect him to fit in as a hybrid LB - the role Iffy would have filled if healthy. Even in his prime Adams was known much more as downhill S than a guy playing in space, including putting up big sack numbers a few years.

Exactly my thought after reading the news.

Obligatory Jamal Adams meme post because he’s a Detroit Lion: