The Lions suffered a handful of late injuries in their Sunday night win. Which one are you most concerned about?
The Detroit Lions appeared to be closing out Week 18 relatively healthy until late. Amidst the celebrations, the Lions now have a handful of concerning injuries to keep an eye on heading into the playoffs. Fortunately, it was all worth it, as getting the one seed means a bye week for extra rest. The Lions walked away with a few notable injuries: Terrion Arnold has a foot injury, Kevin Zeitler suffered a hamstring injury, and Levi Onwuzurike left the game early in the fourth quarter. The Lions also lost Pat O’Connor early on in the game to a calf injury.
Arnold appeared after the game with a boot on his right foot, but Dan Campbell confirmed that x-rays were negative for Arnold. On Tuesday, NFL Network reported that Arnold’s injury is a foot contusion, and that the rookie is considered day-to-day.
As far as Zeitler is concerned, soft tissue injuries like a hamstring typically take several weeks to return from due to the high likelihood of recurrence. However, Campbell shared encouraging news, saying regarding Zeitler and Arnold that “I can’t guarantee that they’re playing, but it’s much better than it appeared to be when the injuries happened.”
Campbell didn’t provide any update on Levi Onwuzurike’s injury, but the defensive tackle walked off under his own power during the game and returned to play for the final five minutes of the game.
Question of the day: Which Week 18 injury is most costly to the Lions?
My answer: definitely Terrion Arnold’s injury.
While Zeitler is a key player on the offensive line, the Lions have promising depth at guard. Christian Mahogany stepped in for Zeitler and finished as the Lions’ highest-graded offensive player, per PFF—albeit on five offensive snaps. That’s on top of his solid job filling in for Graham Glasgow on the left side just a few weeks back.
When it comes to cornerback depth, the Lions are thin. They’re already down their CB1 in Carlton Davis—and depth players Emmanuel Moseley, Khalil Dorsey, and Ennis Rakestraw are currently down. That leaves Kindle Vildor as the next man up, which hasn’t had great returns this year.
It doesn’t seem like Onwuzurike’s injury is much to worry about, but he would be a significant loss too considering he generated nine pressures against the Vikings. He was a real difference maker on the interior, where the Lions have struggled to generate pressure all year.
Which Week 18 injury are you most concerned about? Vote below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
