Injury crisis averted.
Detroit Lions cornerback D.J. Reed could be headed to injured reserve after leaving Sunday’s win over the Cleveland Browns with a hamstring injury, but Lions coach Dan Campbell said Reed’s injury is not season-ending.
“He’s going to be down for a while, but the good news is this is not a season-ender,” Campbell said Monday in Allen Park. “We will get him back, it looks like. So that’s the good news. He’s a stud.”
Here’s what we know about Reed’s injury, Terrion Arnold’s injury and the Lions depth chart at cornerback.
D.J. Reed injury news
Reed was injured early in the fourth quarter of the Lions’ 34-10 vicotry while covering a deep pass to Browns receiver Jerry Jeudy.
Reed grabbed at the back of his left leg as he chased Jeudy downfield, and still tried to disrupt the pass as he fell to the ground. Joe Flacco’s pass fell incomplete on the play, and Kalif Raymond returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown on the next snap to give the Lions a 17-point lead.
“That’s the way he’s wired,” Campbell said. “That’s the type of guy he is. And look, you can see the tape of player on the tape you have a pretty good idea of what he’s made of. You do enough leg work, but then just his style of play when you watch him play, you know that he’s a great fit for us and that just shows everything you need to know. That to him is more important than his own body is making the play for his teammates. He doesn’t want to let the guys down, he needs to make a play and something comes of that.”
Reed has been the Lions’ best cornerback through four games. If he lands on injured reserve, he will miss at least four games: Week 5 against Ja’Marr Chase and the Cincinnati Bengals, Week 6 against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, the Lions’ Monday night home game Oct. 20 in Week 7 against Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and, after a bye, Nov. 2 in Week 9 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Reed would be eligible to return when the Lions visit the Washington Commanders in Week 10 on Nov. 9.
Chase led the NFL in receiving last year, while Mahomes and Mayfield are two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
Terrion Arnold injury update
Campbell said Arnold, Reed’s fellow starting cornerback, also could miss time with the shoulder injury he suffered against the Browns, though his injury is not considered too serious.
“I don’t think this is a huge thing, but the question is, is he going to be ready for this week?” Campbell said. “That would be really the question. So if it’s not this week, he should be back by next week for sure.”
Lions CB depth chart
The Lions could add depth at cornerback to their practice squad of 53-man roster in the coming days, though they likely will use some combination of Amik Robertson, Khalil Dorsey, Rock Ya-Sin and Avonte Maddox to fill in for the time being.
Robertson, the Lions’ starting nickel cornerback most of the past two seasons, split first-team reps at the No. 2 corner spot with Arnold against the Browns and played well at the position late last season after Carlton Davis III was lost to a broken jaw.
Dorsey and Ya-Sin saw snaps at outside cornerback Sunday and Maddox can play slot cornerback if Robertson stays outside full-time.
Last year, the Lions navigated season-long injury problems to their front seven and at one point had six defensive starters on injured reserve.
“We knew this could be an issue, so we’ve always preached next man up and getting the next guys ready to go, getting them reps in practice, which we’ve been doing from camp to even now during the season going on four weeks,” Campbell said. “Our next guys up get reps. They get real reps. They get our scheme, our work, running our plays and so they’re expected to step in and we don’t lose a beat. They know that. That’s the expectation here and that is the standard.
“So whether it’s Dorse or Rock, they’re going to be ready to go. They’re going to step up and they’re not going to miss a beat, that’s the whole point.”
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Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lions CB D.J. Reed injury will keep him ‘down for a while,’ avoids worst-case scenario
Reporting by Dave Birkett, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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