Lions HC Dan Campbell provided injury updates on Marcus Davenport, Sam LaPorta, Derrick Barnes, Alim McNeill and others. We break it all down here.
Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell addressed the media on Monday afternoon and provided updates on several of the team’s injured players.
Derrick Barnes (knee) — will miss a “significant amount of time”
Injured during the Lions win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3, Barnes exited the game in the first half and was ruled out shortly after halftime. He required a cart to exit the field and the initial concerns were that his injury could be significant. On Monday, Campbell confirmed, that Barnes will require a lot of time to recover.
“Barnes is going to be down a significant amount of time,” Campbell said.
How long he will need to recover is still being determined, as the team is currently getting multiple opinions on his knee injury to get a full assessment. At this time, he could be a candidate for injured reserve, but the Lions will wait until they get a full report from the doctor visits.
“We’re not going to know that,” Campbell on Barnes being placed on injured reserve. “We’re still getting second opinions on that. What we know right now is he’s going to be down a little while. We know that, and then it’s just a matter of these opinions keep coming back, how long is that going to be? It’s the knee, so is he going to need something done other than one of the ligaments? Can it scar in? Can these ligaments scar in and everything will be good, it just needs time? We know he’s going to need to be down for a little while while the knee heals, and then once it heals, is it going to need surgery?”
Barnes is one of the biggest losses for the Lions because he was playing at a high level and does not have a direct one-for-one replacement. The Lions have six other linebackers on the roster but none have the range and skill set to contribute at the SAM position.
When Barnes exited, he was replaced by Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Ben Niemann took snaps at SAM, but neither is best suited for the role. The Lions have unsuccessfully tried James Houston in the role, and Trevor Nowaske played a similar role in college but he’s been a healthy scratch the first three weeks of the season. Practice squaders Isaac Ukwu and Mitchell Agude found some success in the SAM role during training camp and could be options for promotion.
“We gotta lot of depth,” Campbell continued. “We trust every one of those players in there. Look, it’s going to hurt to lose Barnes. Barnes was 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 and we have a ton of faith in those guys.”
One option that could have been in line for SAM snaps was Marcus Davenport, but he also received some bad news on Monday…
Marcus Davenport (elbow) — likely season-ending
Unfortunately, Campbell seemingly confirmed the news that Davenport will miss the rest of the season with an elbow injury.
“Davenport will be out. Looks like it’s a season-ender there. We’re still getting some other opinions on it,” Campbell said.
It’s a big blow to the Lions defense, as Davenport was often praised by this coaching staff for his ideal fit in this defense, particularly his physical nature and ability to complement Aidan Hutchinson on the other side.
Campbell noted that it will likely be Josh Paschal who will have to step up in Davenport’s place. The Lions’ second-round pick in 2022 has only had a limited role thus far, but Campbell found Paschal’s performance on Sunday very promising.
“We have a lot of faith—and Paschal, this is going to be big for him,” Campbell said. “He’s going to take a load over there now. And he played an outstanding game, by the way. He was another one. I thought he played really well yesterday. He was physical, continues to grow. We’re going to need him to step up and I have all the faith in the world that he will.”
John Cominsky (MCL, on injured reserve) — still a ways off from returning
Campbell was asked if Cominsky—who is currently on injured reserve with an MCL injury—would be considered an option as a replacement, but the coach quickly shut down that possibility.
“That’s still way off in the distance,” Campbell said of Cominsky’s possible return from injured reserve. “He’s doing well, but this is going to be a while.”
Campbell did confirm the reporter’s suggestion that defensive lineman Pat O’Connor—who has a similar skill set—could be an option to be elevated/promoted from the practice squad.
Brian Branch (concussion) — in the NFL’s concussion protocol
As we found out after Sunday’s game, Branch is in the concussion protocol following a helmet-to-helmet collision with Cardinals tight end Trey McBride. It’s unclear if Branch can clear protocol in time, but Campbell gave an optimistic update.
“Branch is in the (concussion) protocol, but as of today, he was doing pretty good. So we’ll see where that goes,” Campbell said.
As a reminder, the Lions play on “Monday Night Football” next week, so Branch will have an extra day to clear.
Alim McNeill (shoulder) — day-to-day
After the game on Sunday, it sounded like McNeill could miss an extended period of time, but Campbell was much more optimistic about the Lions fourth-year defensive tackle on Monday.
“Mac will be day-to-day,” Campbell said.
That sounds like he may avoid being placed on injured reserve and even has a chance to potentially play this week. McNeill suffered a shoulder injury at the end of the first half against the Cardinals and did not return. In his place, the Lions played more of rookie defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo, who finished with three tackles on the day.
Sam LaPorta (low ankle sprain) — day-to-day
Reports are out that LaPorta suffered a low-ankle sprain in the first half on Sunday after getting rolled up on. Though he tried to return to the game, he eventually sat out the rest of the contest. He, too, appears to have a chance to play this week.
“LaPorta’s day-to-day,” Campbell said.
Terrion Arnold, Levi Onwuzurike, and Dan Skipper were also injured in Arizona, but all returned to the game, while Alex Anzalone, Ifeatu Melifonwu, and Isaiah Williams missed the game with existing injuries, and none of their statuses were updated on Monday.
