Alim McNeill, a top defensive tackle, will be out of the Detroit Lions lineup for the next four weeks after the team
placed him on injured reserve on Tuesday.
The injury happened during Sunday’s victory over New Orleans for McNeill. The third-year tackle departed the game
early due to an injury and later made a comeback. But in the second half, he would leave the game a second time and
never come back.
This season, Brian Branch, a rookie, is the first player to have returned from an injury to play after missing many
weeks.
However, the Lions don’t think McNeill’s comeback had a detrimental effect on his circumstances. In that case, head
coach Dan Campbell thinks the defender felt he could play through the injury, which is why he made the return.
“If we really felt like, man, they’re gonna make this thing worse, we’re not putting them back in there,” Campbell
said. We’re not going to waste all that time and energy on seeing if he can hobble around for six weeks, after which
we’re going to lose him. However, if the player believes they can succeed, Mac returned, tried it, and then left after
realizing it didn’t feel right. Thus, I don’t have such feeling.
Campbell also outlined the rationale for substituting a wounded player into a match.
“Some of these are things you acquire, and you fear you’re going to make them worse. These things might go serious,
so it’s not worth it. However, if these are the case, listen, the issue is one of discomfort; the item is stable,” Campbell
said. It is up to the player now whether or not they can handle it. However, those seem to differ slightly in my
opinion. I’m good for it if it doesn’t grow worse, he has to cope with pain, and he wants to go back in. However, it’s
probably not going to happen if we feel like we could undercut this player in terms of the output we’re going to get
from him, which is less than 100%.
The Lions will have to look elsewhere for interior line alternatives with McNeill on injured reserve. Isaiah Buggs,
Brodric Martin, and Levi Onwuzurike are a few of them; they have all been healthy scratches at various points this
season.
“All you can ask for is that those guys have a fantastic opportunity. You’re thrilled if you’re one of them. Let me just
say that it will be difficult to be without Mac for these four weeks as he has been a dependable, consistent, and
effective player for us. This year, he’s truly come into his own,” Campbell remarked. “He’s just gotten bigger every
year, but he really came into his own this year. It stings because guys respect him a lot, but at the same time
1.) For his play against the New Orleans Saints, Jalen Reeves-Maybin has been selected the NFC Special Teams
Player of the Week. In the victory, he recorded four special teams tackles.
He becomes the first Lions player to win the honor since Bracy Walker did it in 2004 who is not a kicker, punter, or
returner. With 11 special teams tackles this season, Reeves-Maybin is tied for the league lead.
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