The Detroit Lions may have started their bye week, but the MRI machines and medical staff get no byes… ever. There were multiple injury updates on Monday from national reporters as well as from Dan Campbell’s press conference regarding Tom Kennedy, Devin White, and Blake Miller.
Here are some of Campbell’s quotes along with my analysis.
🔴Bad news or high concern
🟡Uncertain or moderately concerning
🟢Good news or low concern
🔴 Tom Kennedy Right MCL Surgery
“Tom’s going to need surgery. It was significant enough where he’ll be out for the season.”
Imaging results were not favorable for Kennedy’s MCL, which is now pending surgery. MCLs usually heal without surgery (even Grade 3), but surgery can be indicated for an unstable Grade 3, a distal tear, entrapment of the ligament, or multi-ligament (+/- ACL or PCL) tears.
For example, Derrick Barnes had MCL/PCL surgery in 2024. Other recent Lions MCL surgeries include John Cominsky and Connor Galvin in 2024.
Also in 2024, David Montgomery was on the list of pending MCL surgeries until further opinions allowed him to eschew surgery and return in just five weeks. I wouldn’t expect any such miracles for Kennedy as Montgomery’s doctor has mysteriously disappeared from public view…
The recovery timeline for MCL surgery is typically around six months, which means Kennedy will be ready for the 2027 season… his 37th straight with the Lions.
Speaking of MCLs…
🟢 Blake Miller Left Knee Update
“He’s good. He should be good. He had a little aggravation, but we don’t feel like it’s anything serious.”
This is a reassuring update from Dan Campbell regarding Miller, who I suspect may have had a mild left MCL sprain.
Here is the obscured video from the late third quarter where you can see how his left lower leg gets trapped, which may have caused his knee to bend inward when the defender rolls up on him…
He finished the game with a knee brace, which is reminiscent of the Alim McNeill scenario in 2023.
In 2023, McNeill injured his MCL early in the third quarter in a friendly fire collision with Aidan Hutchinson…
Alim finished out the game while wearing a knee brace…
McNeill’s knee brace appears to be the same type as the one Miller wore yesterday:
After the game, Alim was diagnosed with a moderate MCL sprain on MRI and was placed on IR, missing the next four games.
Fortunately, Miller’s MRI presumably did not reveal any unexpected results like with McNeill (or Kennedy above). At this point, the signs are favorable that Miller won’t miss any time.
🟡 Devin White Forearm Fracture Surgery
“He’ll require surgery. We’ll get him back at some point. It’ll just be a while.“
Nothing new here as White’s impending forearm surgery was already reported by Dan Campbell yesterday in postgame. White will be back, likely in about 7-8 weeks. There is even precedent for an earlier return from a forearm fracture:
Dallas Goedert returned in 5 weeks.
Rob Gronkowski returned in 6 weeks, but refractured it 2 weeks later.
Thomas Davis returned in 2 weeks for the Super Bowl.
There is a forearm refracture risk as seen with Steve Smith, Roy Williams (safety, not the Lions WR), and Alex Anzalone who broke the same forearm in college.
🟡 Amon-Ra St. Brown Punt Returner?
“I would rather not have St. Brown back there for a whole game taking punts.”
After Tom Kennedy left the game, ARSB became the punt returner. I’m not a fan of using our #1 WR as a returner for health reasons, and it’s good to hear that Dan Campbell isn’t a fan of it either.
In 2024, when forced to return punts after Kalif Raymond hurt his foot, St. Brown appeared to hurt his right knee or upper calf area…
Unless St. Brown is going to just be fair catching, it would be nice if the Lions established a different emergency punt returner moving forward.
🔴 Playing Starters in Garbage Time?
The Lions offensive starters were still playing with 5 minutes left and up by 24 points. The defensive starters were playing with 2 minutes left.
“There is a fine line. You want to feel dang sure you got it wrapped up.
Those are valuable reps to get. It was important that our guys played together.”
It’s good to hear that Dan is at least cognizant of this issue, but he needs a trusted advisor in his ear to tell him to take guys out (I’m available). Given how high the snap counts already are for the Lions star players, any chance to take some snaps off should be taken. Which leads us to…
Detroit Lions Week 5 Snap Count Analysis
DEFENSE
🟢Ennis Rakestraw’s percentage keeps rising to 48%. Last week, he was at 41%. He’s made it through five games healthy and has looked good in the games.
🟢Tyleik Williams, who was designated “questionable” with a minor foot injury, played 48% of snaps. That’s a good amount, although less than his 67% the week before.
🟢Keith Abney saw a huge uptick in snaps with 81% at the safety position. Last game, he saw zero defensive snaps.
🔴Aidan Hutchinson continues to be at 90% or more, and I still don’t like it - not just for health reasons, but for production reasons. He did pick up 0.5 sacks and 3 pressures, but he could be more impactful if he was fresher throughout the game.
🟢Alim McNeill’s 71% is a good range for him. Last week, he was at 83%.
🟡Derrick Moore got more action this week with 27%. Last week, he only played 11%.
OFFENSE
🟢Blake Miller did not miss a snap despite his left knee injury. He was playing in the final garbage-time drive even when some of the other offensive line starters were sitting. That probably signals that medical didn’t have any significant concerns.
🟡Jahmyr Gibbs was at a reasonable percentage with 70% vs Sione Vaki’s 35%. However, Gibbs got the vast bulk of carries with 25 to Vaki’s 6 (3 of which were on the final garbage-time drive). What I really didn’t like was seeing Gibbs taking carries with 5 minutes left in the game and a 24 point lead. Why take risk here with no reward? Give Vaki some reps and don’t expose Gibbs to unnecessary injury.
🟡Sam LaPorta has played fantastic all year including this game, and has been logging very high snap counts (89% this game). For those hopping aboard the “#PayLaPorta” hashtag, I would advise caution. The concern with his spine isn’t short-term, but rather long-term.
For the complicating factors regarding LaPorta’s contract extension…
Lions Mailbag: Sam LaPorta Contract & Injury Prevention
Training camp is starting up and often the biggest news to watch out for throughout camp is new injuries to key players. This late-July edition of the Lions Medical Mailbag focuses on Lions injury prevention strategy as well as Sam LaPorta’s long-term future with the team.