When Detroit Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes suffered an injury in the team’s Week 3 game against the Arizona Cardinals, it wasn’t clear how long he would miss. Even when the Lions placed Barnes on injured reserve last week, there seemed like a small sliver of hope that he could return after a month or two absence.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case anymore. During his Monday afternoon press conference, coach Dan Campbell delivered the bad news on Barnes.
“I think we will be fortunate to get him at any point this year,” Campbell said. “I don’t want to say it’s not going to happen, but I think we would be pretty fortunate if it does.”
Barnes suffered a lower-body injury after absorbing a low, cut block from Cardinals tight end Trey McBride:
Here's the play where Lions LB Derrick Barnes gets hit low and exits the game with a knee injury. Pretty unfortunate. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/Ul4w5IU23h
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) September 24, 2024
It’s a tough blow to the team, as Barnes was the team’s starting SAM linebacker, which covers many roles on the defense. He was a pass rusher, an edge setter in the run game, and a player capable of dropping into coverage. Going back to last year, coaches had been wildly impressed with the strides Barnes had made since arriving in 2021 as the team’s fourth-round pick.
“Barnes has taken the time, literally, offseason, in season, he is a full-on professional,” linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard said after Week 1. “This job means everything to him. Outside of his family, I know for a fact that this is all he do.”
“This guy is playing five positions right now, in game. Not like in practice or in a backup type role. In game, he’s playing five, live positions within the game. And he does not bat an eye. For a guy to be able to come from where has in 2021, man, I credit that kid. And his trajectory right now is literally pointing north.”
It’s also a really tough luck for Barnes himself. He was just coming into his own, and now he’ll head into 2025 as an impending free agent. Clearly the coaching staff loves where he was headed, but Detroit has several players who may be in line for an extension before him, including Alim McNeill, Aidan Hutchinson, Levi Onwuzurike, Carlton Davis, and Kerby Joseph.
