It's not all doom and gloom for the Lions
While Detroit Lions fans may be sad about pass rusher Marcus Davenport's injury, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Defensive lineman Alim McNeill will be okay, and the squad has depth pieces who can step up as well.
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McNeill's shoulder injury isn't serious, via NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
“#Lions DT Alim McNeill is considered day-to-day after leaving Sunday’s game vs. Arizona with a shoulder injury, per source. Good news for Detroit and one of the NFL’s most disruptive DTs,” Schultz reported.
McNeill is a consistent force in the interior of the defensive line, recording 32 tackles with five sacks last year. The NC State alum will be even more important to Detroit without some other regulars present on that side of the ball.
However, other Lions players have less positive injury updates.
Marcus Davenport headlines an injured Lions unit
Detroit head coach Dan Campbell confirmed that Davenport is most likely out for the year, via Sports Illustrated's Christopher Booher.
“Davenport will be out, looks like that's a season-ender there,” Campbell said. “Still getting some other opinions on that.”
Additionally, linebacker Derrick Barnes will be out for several weeks with a knee injury after a low block from Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. However, Campbell doesn't know if the 25-year-old will go on injured reserve.
“We're not gonna know on that, we're still getting second opinions on that,” Campbell said. “What we know right now is he's gonna be down for a little while. We know that, and then it's just a matter of, once these opinions come back, how long is that gonna be? It's the knee, so is he gonna need something done other than one of the ligaments? And can it scar in? Can these ligaments scar in and everything will be good, just needs time? We know he's gonna need to be down for a little while while the knee heals, and then once it heals, is he gonna need surgery?”
With Barnes and Alex Anzalone now out, backups like Malcolm Rodriguez, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, and Ben Niemann will get more snaps.
“We've got a lot of depth, we trust every one of those players in there,” Campbell explained. “It hurts, it's gonna hurt to lose Barnes. Barnes is playing at a high level, but if it's gotta happen in any room, the linebacker room gives you faith because all those guys can play. We have a ton of faith in those guys.”
Barnes already had 10 tackles on the year, along with 81 last season.
Meanwhile, nickelback Brian Branch may miss time after a helmet-to-helmet collision with Cardinals tight end Trey McBride. Detroit's depth will certainly be tested on the defensive side of the ball over the coming weeks.
