After a brutal game on Sunday from a health standpoint, it was good for the team to have a day off today. Fortunately, there has been recent optimism regarding the big injury concern for Jack Campbell. Hoping and praying Jack can make a full recovery over the next few days.
Let’s start with the Week 8 snap counts analysis and then get to Dan Campbell’s updates on the radio today… sandwiched around a 1984 retrospective.
Lions vs Vikings Week 8 Snap Counts
DEFENSE
The Lions played very few snaps in total on defense in this game, so that is something to keep in mind.
🟡Aidan Hutchinson’s 50 snaps would tie him for the third-lowest of his 2025 season. However, his percentage (94%) remains sky high compared to his peers. Here was my analysis heading into this season…
🟢Alim McNeill is right where I want him to be at 75% - not overworked. I’d like Hutch in this range also.
🟢Derrick Moore’s snaps continue to rise, as he hit his season peak of 42%. While he hasn’t made a huge impact yet, he appears to be getting close.
🔴Ennis Rakestraw (2%) took a massive dip compared to two weeks ago when he was at 48%. He suffered a left ankle sprain in the game prior, which I’m suspecting to be the explanation. He had been playing very well, so a benching seems unlikely.
🔴Jimmy Rolder (32%) got his most action of the season and was looking great, until a severe hamstring ended his game and his season.
🟢Roger McCreary (77%) entered the game questionable with a foot injury, but looked very good out there. His snaps may have dipped due to the injury, as he had played 100% in the previous game.
🟢Rock Ya-Sin (45%) has been on a roller coaster this year after being a starter in Week 1, a special-teamer in Week 4, missing Week 5 due to a hamstring, and now rising up the depth chart again. With the uncertainty of DJ Reed’s hip and Rakestraw’s ankle, Ya-Sin may be a starter again in Week 9.
OFFENSE
🟡Amon-Ra St. Brown (72%) may have been slightly limited by a left knee. He also had an unspecified ankle injury in the previous game. These are things to watch as the season wears on.
🔴Sam LaPorta (93%) continues to play a very high percentage this season coming off his microdiscectomy surgery.
🟢Tyler Conklin (31%) played by far his most snaps of the season.
🟢Sione Vaki (28%) saw his most extensive action of the year and looked fantastic. He finished with 11 carries for 65 yards (5.9 Y/A), and 1 reception. Hopefully, he can continue to steal touches from Gibbs.
🟡Jahmyr Gibbs appeared to have injured his right AC joint in each of the past two games. His snaps dipped to a much more prudent level (76% vs 90% last week), but he still tacked on another 25 touches. How does this rate historically? Read on…
Detroit Lions 1984 Team
Jahmyr Gibbs currently has 191 touches and is on pace for 464 touches for the entire season. That final number would place second in NFL history behind James Wilder in 1984. So I decided to take a look back at what the Lions looked like that year.
The Lions were coached by Monte Clark and finished 4-11-1, 4th in the NFC Central.
The primary Lions quarterback of my youth was Eric Hipple. In 1984, Hipple played in eight games and started one. The starter for most of the year was Gary Danielson, who finished with 3076 passing yards, 17 TD, and 15 INT.
The leading rusher was Billy Sims, who ran for 687 yards in eight games. This was the year he tore his ACL, ending a potential Hall-of-Fame career.
The leading receiver for the Lions was Leonard Thompson with 50 receptions for 773 yards. The NFL leader was Roy Green, who had 78 receptions for 1555 yards.
The Lions sack leader was William Gay with 10.
Eddie Murray was the Lions kicker. He made 20 of 27 kicks.
The highest grossing movie was Beverly Hills Cop, featuring a cop from Detroit who goes to southern California and makes a big mark…
Maybe in three months, a football team from Detroit (Lions) will go to southern California (SoFi Stadium) and make a big mark (Super Bowl LXI).
Dan Campbell Injury Updates
Dan was on 97.1 The Ticket this morning and had comments on many players. For most of the injury videos, visit my Lions vs Vikings Postgame Report. Here are Dan’s quotes along with my analysis.
Jack Campbell - Spine
“The good news is he is improving.
The thought of him knowing he’s doing better. I’ve kept the captains up to date. And they’ve let the other guys know it’s good news. So I think that helps everybody get a better handle on all this.”
This is the same message that we heard yesterday from Dan, which suggests Jack has a favorable prognosis but is not out-of-the-woods yet. It sounds like there are still neurological symptoms, but the symptoms are improving.
Dan has used the terms “good news” and “positive” many times over the past two days, which is reassuring. Hopefully, we get some really good, concrete news within the next few days.
Jimmy Rolder - Hamstring
“Rolder had a heck of a game before that happened.”
Yesterday, Dan said that Rolder was out for the season with a hamstring that might need surgery. The Lions put Rolder on IR today and the Lions IR/PUP/NFI Tracker has been updated.
Here is Rolder’s injury video…
Rolder is seen rushing off the right edge and just goes down. Initially, he attempts to get up, but then is seen on the ground struggling. This was the same play as Jack’s injury, so seeing Rolder on the ground caused understandable confusion for many viewers.
Cade Mays - Ankle
“I don’t see Cade practicing Wednesday, and he might not Thursday.”
Mays appeared to have a left ankle sprain on video. There was no good replay, but the video gave hope that this was a best-case scenario of a low-ankle sprain.
Overall, the signs are reassuring that Mays’ ankle is not a long-term issue. If it is indeed a low-ankle sprain, then he has a chance to play on Sunday in Miami.
Kerby Joseph - Left knee
“He’ll be in practice this week. We’re going to try to get him some scout team reps. He’s not going to play this game.”
This was expected news for Joseph. Last week, Dan described his ramp-up as in the “infancy” stage. I expect a slow, gradual ramp-up to monitor for any signs of pain or swelling in the knee.
If all goes well, Kerby’s target game may be November 15 vs the Patriots or November 26 (Thanksgiving) vs the Bears. I would not expect his first game to be on November 22 vs the Bucs due to the short turnaround.
For Kerby’s initial injury timeline, visit this story…
Brian Branch & DJ Wonnum - Concussion
They’re in concussion protocol. We’ll know where we’re at in Phase 1 of this thing later this afternoon.
Here are the 5 phases of the concussion protocol that Dan is referencing:
Return to play (RTP) from concussion is dependent on how quickly a player moves through the 5 phases. Additionally, RTP for any injury is dependent on importance of game and importance of player. The fact that the Lions are playing a 1-6 AFC opponent (Dolphins) on Sunday may factor into the decision.
If Wonnum or Branch have a limited practice on Wednesday’s initial injury report, that would be an excellent sign.
Players can RTP within seven days from concussion - we saw this with Jabari Small in preseason (although he may have suffered another concussion in his game back).
In the previous three seasons though, no Lion returned to play in under nine days…
DJ Reed - Hip
It doesn’t look good for him on Wednesday for sure. Until I can get more on that, I don’t see where he’s at.
Sounds like Reed is having further evaluation for his hip, which certainly includes imaging. He landed hard on his right hip, so if this is a simple contusion, he could have a quick return-to-play.
Jacob Saylors - Neck
I don’t see Saylors on Wednesday.
I suspect Saylors aggravated the neck injury he sustained in the previous game. Hopefully, this is just a mild strain/sprain and there are no surprises.
For more detailed analysis on Jack Campbell from yesterday…
Jack Campbell Spine Injury Update
Jack Campbell suffered a highly concerning injury to his neck yesterday. For my initial thoughts on his injury, visit my Lions vs Vikings Postgame Injury Report.