Injuries update: Detroit Lions lose yet another defender to season-ender
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 Jonah Williams.
Update 4:15 p.m. — The Lions also poached defensive lineman Myles Adams off the Seahawks practice squad.
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.
I know there is no way to measure this and compare, but we might be witnessing the best coaching and organizational management in the history of the NFL.
The amount of talent the Lions have lost on defense to injury this year is unreal. That loss of talent and still holding up as one of the top defenses in the league is unprecedented. Credit goes all around: to the players that remain for continuing to battle at a high level, to AG for game planning before the game and adjusting on the fly as talent drops during the game, to Dan Campbell for creating a culture where everyone just grits through whatever is going on, not whining or complaining about it, and deftly adjusting strategy in all three phases to account for the injuries, and finally to Brad Holmes for not only forming a roster with this much talent in the first place but also finding really solid replacements on the waiver wire and on other teams' practice squads.
This is an organization that rows the same direction adjusting synchronously as currents of various speeds come at them. It's quite incredible. I'm glad that I'm witnessing it.
Next man up. We will beat the Packers with other team's PS players on defense as long as our offense plays well IMO.